Tera Howell and The Weasley Twins year 3
by BrokenAngel363
Summary: We join Tera in her third year at Hogwarts. She'll have more then just her boys to watch out for this year, cause there's another Howell at the school! Yes thats right, her little brother will be joining the Hogwarts ranks, and Tera being the big sister keeps an eye out for him. Tera discovers new thing about herself, about her newest teacher and lots of things will be revealed RR
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome back! Sorry for the long wait, here is the next chapter of Tera's story. It took a bit to think out this one, but I hope you enjoy it! This includes excerpts from the books and plenty of Tera in her Hufflepuff glory! ^^ Enjoy!  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I do own this story and the majority of its contents.  
**

**Chapter One**

**Getting Bugga-Boo Started**

Tera looked at the calendar, knowing that tomorrow, her dear cousin Harry would be turning 13 years old. She already had his present, which was a tin of cookies, a book on Quidditch flying strategies, and a golden snitch pendant. She made him a card, with her whole family waving at him from the front.

_Dear Harry,_

_Happy Birthday! I do hope the Muggles have been treating you well. I would have called but Hermione told me about what happened with Ron and I couldn't think of how to explain my knowing you other then the truth. Mum and Callum say hi and hope that your well, nana also says that a boy your age needs to eat as much as possible to keep his strength up and to help with growth spurts. Hope this card and our warm wishes bring a smile to your face._

_Lots of love_

_Tera and family_

After sending the letter Tera laid down with a smile, she really did hope Harry would have a good birthday this year. Lord knows he deserves it.

Callum had finally gotten his letter, jumping up and down, and hooting like a madman he couldn't sit still and whined for someone to take him to Diagon Alley. Since their mother was out of country again on medical call, Tera opted for taking Callum out to get his supplies. They took the bus into town and walked though the Leaky Cauldron to a brick wall with a few bricks missing.

"Alright Bugga-boo. Here is your first lesson; you need to memorize the pattern so that you can get into Diagon Alley." She tapped the bricks in the correct pattern, smiling at Callum's awed face as the brick wall morphed into an archway, revealing Diagon Alley and all of its wonders. "Now then, let's get to work."

They went from shop to shop, Tera patiently letting Callum look at everything around him, taking in the newest broom that caught his attention, and then dragging him off to different shops. She herself needed to get some shopping done so they couldn't spend all day browsing. After visiting Madam Malkin's to get him some robes, the Apothecary, and Flourish and Blotts, it was time to get Callum his wand.

"Alright to Ollivander's we go!" she said, walking her brother over to Ollivander's and leading him inside. "Hello? Mister Ollivander?"

They waited for few minutes and jumped when they heard a crash from the back. Mr. Ollivander coming out while coughing. "Yes… how may I help you? Ah Miss Howell. How nice to see you again… Please don't tell me you've broken your wand. It seems like only yesterday you were in here getting it, Apple and phoenix feather core, twelve and three-quarter inches. If I'm not mistaken."

Tera laughed lightly. "You never are Mr. Ollivander, and no I still have my wand and it's in good condition. I brought my little brother to get his first wand. Callum, say hello to Mr. Ollivander."

"Hello." Callum said, eager to get on with things and get his wand.

"Hello Mr. Howell, let us see what I have hiding in the store here for you. Hold out your wand arm so we can get your measurements." Ollivander took Callum's measurements, nodding to himself then heading down one of the wand isles to find a wand for Callum.

After a minute or so he came back, holding out a wand for Callum to try. "Maple wood with unicorn tail hair, ten and a third inches. Go on, give it a try."

Callum waved the wand, jumping in shock as a lamp exploded.

"No, definitely not. Hmmm…" and off he went, searching again. He brought out another wand. "Here we are, Cherry and dragon heartstring, eleven and an eighth inches."

Callum grabbed the wand and golden sparks shot out the end, swirling around him. Callum smiled up at Tera, his eyes glowing. "This is it!"

"Indeed it is." Ollivander said with a small chuckle, ringing them up. "That will be 7 gold Galleons for the wand please." he said before leading them to the entrance. "Thank you for coming! Take good care of your wand Mr. Howell, I'd hate to see you come in for a replacement any time soon."

Callum nodded enthusiastically, his excitement leaving him temporarily speechless.

"Thank you Mister Ollivander, I hope you have a wonderful day." Tera said in farewell, waving as she herded her brother out the door. "Alright Bugga-boo, I think that concludes our day in Diagon Alley. Unless you can think of something else you need that is. And before you say a broom, remember that first years aren't allowed their own broomsticks."

Callum huffed and shook his head, unable to think of anything, then smiling when he spotted Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. "Can we get some Ice Cream Tera?"

"Well…. You haven't been a total pain in the arse today… so I guess so." She said with a chuckle, flinging her arm across Callum's shoulders and leading the way.

After ice cream and some playful sibling banter they paid and headed back out the way they came, walking a few blocks to Tera's favorite little book store. Tera being the way she is, spent an hour looking through books and grabbing up all the ones that she could afford to get.

Callum of course was bored out of him mind, reading a Spiderman comic out of the small selection that they had in the front half of the shop. Making their way out of the store, laden with all of their purchases of the day, Callum smiled as he thought about the school year to come.

The day had finally come, Tera smiled at Callum who was starting to look like your typical nervous first year. Persephone smiled, hugging both of her children.

"Remember to write as soon as you find out what house you're in Callum and try to make lots of good friends." She said, kissing his forehead lightly. "Good luck honey."

Callum hugged his mother, a sniffle escaping him. "I'll miss you mum." He mumbled before rushing off, Loki trilling lightly in his cage.

"Don't worry about him mum, I'll keep an eye on him, and I'll recruit some friends to help too." Tera said as she hugged her mother goodbye.

"I see so much of his father in him; I just pray he at least has my good sense to stay out of trouble…"

"I highly doubt that." Tera said with a laugh before she too hurried to get on the train, Thor's cage sitting on a small cat carrier. Tera loaded her things onto the train, and then went to find her brother, laughing when she found him in a headlock by none other then Fred Weasley. "Fred, you let him go right now or I'll hex you from here to Hogwarts." she said with a laugh, sitting down across from George who was chuckling lightly.

"I was only having a bit of fun with the little rascal, love." Fred laughed, letting Callum go and ruffling his hair playfully.

Callum smiled, a bit of adoration shining in his icy blue eyes as he took his seat next to George.

Tera just chuckled and rolled her eyes, knowing Callum looked up to the twins cause of all the stories Tera had told him of their pranks. "Yes well there's fun, and then there's Weasley twin fun. One can get you in trouble, the other definitely will." She laughed, smiling as Fred sat down next to her.

"Are we really that bad?" George asked playfully, nudging her with his foot.

"Completely dreadful." She chuckled, nudging him back. "Oh, I have something to ask the two of you."

"Shoot love." Fred said with a smile, cocking his head to the side and looking at her.

"Well I wanted to ask that the two of you help me keep an eye out for Callum to help keep him out of trouble." She said, getting straight to the point.

"Oi! I don't need babysitters." Callum said indignantly.

"Callum… when's the last time you got in trouble?" Tera asked pointedly, tilting her head at him in a way that said 'I dare you to try lying'.

"….yesterday….." he said, looking down at his shoes.

"And what for..?" she asked, a triumphant smirk working its way onto her face.

"….trying to sneak stink bombs to Great Aunt Sylvia's through the fireplace." Callum admitted reluctantly.

"Exactly, you got caught because you tripped and set them off in the house. It took mum three hours to fix your mess. Now imagine if you pulled that sort of thing at Hogwarts. No mum to scold you and fix the problem. You'd have to deal with Filch and the Professors, and trust me kiddo, they aren't as forgiving as mum by a long shot." Tera said while shaking her head with a sigh. "I just don't want to see you getting in trouble bugga-boo."

"I won't get in trouble Tera; you need to stop babying me." Callum said with a groan, knowing his sister cared, but hating how she would hover.

"I know, but I can't help but worry about you, you're my little brother."

"Love, all older siblings know that eventually their younger siblings need to learn from the lumps and bumps that life dishes out." Fred interjected, his arm resting across her shoulders. "You can help, but don't smother him."

Tera sighed and rested her head against his shoulder. "You're right Freddie… its just hard..."

"I know, but he'll thank you someday." He replied, giving her a caring squeeze.

The Hogwarts express chugged on, steadily northward while the scenery outside became more and more wild, the clouds overhead adding a dark dreariness to the world outside the windows. People moved along the corridors in ones and twos, the occasional group of giggling girls going by, causing both Fred and George to toss some flirty comments out the compartment door.

Tera just rolled her eyes at this and buried her nose in her book A Witch's Spell by Barbara Cartland, another one of her Muggle romances.

Around 1:15 the plump little witch with the food cart stopped outside their compartment. "Anything from the trolley dears?"

"Yes, can I get a couple Chocolate Frogs, 4 Cauldron Cakes and a pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans?" Tera said, counting out the amount needed.

"Here you go dear, will there be anything else?" the witch asked kindly.

Everyone shook their heads and with witch moved along. Tera offered everyone a Cauldron Cake and handed Callum a couple Chocolate Frogs.

Callum smiled, quickly devouring the goodies, the sweet confections lulling him to sleep, his messy black hair falling into his face as his head rested against the window.

Tera just rolled her eyes with a smile, nibbling on her Cauldron cake while continuing to read her book.

A while later a stock of blond hair stopped outside their compartment, a voice Tera had hoped to avoid talking to two gorilla sized idiots.

"Can you believe Potty and the Weasel, hiding behind a blasted teacher like a bunch of cowards?" Malfoy said with disgust, shaking his head then raising a hand to make sure none of his hair had fallen out of place. "And did you see the Mudblood's ugly orange beast. Looks like she went shopping in an alley and picked something that had its face kicked in." he said with a sneer.

Crabbe and Goyle both snickered at that last comment, agreeing that the cat was an ugly little beast, and that it fit its owner perfectly.

Tera growled, her annoyance at Malfoy bad mouthing her friends and their pets causing her to stand up and pull the compartment door open quickly, startling the Slytherins outside. "Some of us are trying to enjoy our train ride in peace Malfoy. Why don't you and your gorillas go gossip like little school girls somewhere else?" she said, her eyes flashing with annoyance.

"Well look who it is. Howell and her freckle faced freaks. I would have thought you'd have upgraded to friends befitting of your breeding by now." Malfoy said with a sneer.

Fred jumped to his feet, a growl emitting from his throat, his brother right behind him.

Tera look back at her boys and shook her head, no need for them to get in a fight before they even made it to school. "Oh really, and whom would you suggest I upgrade to Malfoy? Someone like you? Cause that seems like a pretty shitty upgrade to me." Tera said, turning back to look at him with a smug smirk on her face, Fred and George snickering behind her.

Malfoy growled, taking a step towards her. "Watch it Howell."

"What you going to do Malfoy? Hit me? Cause I'd love to see you try." She said, widening her stance a bit but still seeming perfectly relaxed.

Malfoy narrowed his eyes, then turned and stomped off, his two confused lackeys following close behind him.

Tera let out the breath she had been unconsciously holding and fell back against Fred, looking up at him with a relieved smile. "I thought for sure he might hit me that time." She admitted.

Fred shook his head and hugged her against him. "He wouldn't have made it out of here with his teeth had he even tried." He said with frown.

Tera smiled up at him and turned around, pecking him on the cheek. "Thank you for not starting a fight, I don't need the two of you having detention before we even get to the school." She said, smiling around Fred at George too. The trio took their seats, Tera opening her book back up to where she left off and they all fell back into comfortable silence.

The rain was falling in sheets as the train continued its trek farther and farther north; the widows were a shimmering gray color that slowly darkened until lanterns flicker to life all along the corridors of the train and above the luggage racks. The train rattled, the rain beat against the widows while the wind roared like a mighty beast, and still Callum napped like nothing was amiss.

Tera chuckled, knowing her brother could sleep through some of the loudest things you could think of, but if you so much as nudged him or sneezed, he'd jump up and shriek like he'd been burned.

"How much longer until we arrive?" the words had left Tera's lips mere seconds before the train started to slow. "Oh… I guess we're here..."

"We can't be there yet..." mumbled George as he checked his watch, confusion etched on his face.

"But if we aren't, then why are we stopping…?" Tera questioned as the train slowed even more, the rain and wind roaring against the windows now that they weren't muffled by the sounds of the pistons.

"Dunno..." said Fred as he stuck his head out into the corridor.

The train lunged to a stop, thuds and bangs signally luggage falling out of the racks they were stored in, suddenly all the lamps on the train went out and darkness engulfed them.

Tera trembled, her hand reaching out and grabbing blindly before latching onto a large warm hand. "This is getting really creepy…" she mumbled, all the horror scenes she had ever seen or read flashing through her mind.

"Shh love. No need to worry, we've probably just broken down or something." said Fred reassuringly.

Tera moved towards the window and swiped her hand across it, looking outside. "It looks like there's something out there…" her voice squeaked a bit, her body still trembling, she wasn't too fond of the dark.

"Probably just someone trying to figure out what's wrong." reasoned George with a shrug.

"Well sitting here in the dark is starting to freak me out." Tera said, her eyes trying to catch any light in their compartment.

"Oh I can fix that." .said Fred, pulling out his wand he muttered "_Lumos"_ and the end of it glowed with light, illuminating their faces.

Tera started to say thanks but her eyes darted to the door as it slowly slid open. Standing there in the doorway, its form illuminated by the bit of light coming from Fred's wand, was a cloaked figure that towered over them all, nearly reaching the ceiling. Its face hidden beneath a drawn hood, looking down Tera saw that 1) it was floating there, and 2) there was a hand protruding from the depths of the cloak, it was slimy-looking, grayish scab covered, and look semi-skeletal. Like something long since dead that had been decaying in a swamp.

The thing beneath the hood, whatever it was, drew in a long, rattling breath, like it was trying to pull something more then just air into its lungs. Suddenly an intense cold swept over then all, Tera gripped Fred's hand more tightly and moved in front of her brother, trying to shield him from the thing's view.

She felt as though all the happiness was being sucked out of her, like every nightmare she ever had was real and would be her reality for eternity. Her whole body was shaking so bad it was a miracle she could still stand.

The thing seemed like it was going to come in, but before it could there was a flash of silvery light and the creepy thing glided away. The warmth slowly returned to their bodies as a ragged looking man came into their compartment.

"Are you alright?" he asked them.

Tera shook her head, she couldn't stop shaking and had a death grip on Fred's hand, her eyes were glistening with tears.

The man looked around and spotted one of the chocolate frogs from earlier, handing it to Fred. "Get her to eat this, it'll help."

"Wh-what was that thing?" Fred asked as he opened the package and broke the frog into a few pieces, holding one to Tera's lips for her to eat.

"A dementor." said the ragged man who was looking at Tera with a glint of curiosity in his eyes. "One of the dementors of Azkaban to be precise."

Fred and George both stared at him, Tera, who was now chewing the chocolate and felt a great warmth spread to the tips of her fingers and toes. She turned to check on Callum and shook him awake, shoving a chuck of chocolate in his mouth and telling him to chew.

"Who are you, if I may ask?" Tera inquired once she was sure Callum was fine.

"I'm the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. Professor Remus Lupin." He said with a nod of his head in greeting. "May I ask who you are young lady?"

"My name is Tera Howell; this is my younger brother Callum and my best mates Fred and George Weasley." Tera said, pointing to each in turn.

"Would you happen to be related to a Persephone Howell?" he asked curiously.

"Yes… she's my mother. Do you know her?" Tera asked, her eyes holding curiosity mixed with a bit of wary suspicion.

"We went to school together and shared rounds as prefects back during our school days." Professor Lupin said before turning to leave. "I need to speak to the driver, excuse me…" he opened the door and hurried out, disappearing down the dark corridor.

"Well that was odd…" mumbled Callum, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Agreed." said Tera before she plopped back down in her seat and looked at the three boys with her. "Remind me never to run into a… dementor again." She said with a tired sigh, ready to just curl up and sleep.

When the train started moving again Tera shook herself awake, knowing they'd be arriving shortly. No one talked much through out the remainder of their time on the train, scrambling to get their things when the train finally came to a stop at Hogsmeade station. It was freezing outside on the tiny platform; rain driving into them like icy sheets.

Tera gave Callum a small hug and wished him luck as he was herded along with the rest of the frightened looking first years who were being lead to the traditional journey across the lake. "Don't fall in!" she yelled before she too was herded along by her boys into one of at least one hundred stagecoaches, the door shutting out the icy rain behind them.

The coach had a musky sort of moldy smell mixed with that of straw and mud. Tera may have felt a bit better since the chocolate, but the cold wetness outside mixed with her exhaustion was making her just want to go straight to bed. She was cuddled between the boys to try and stay warm, though mostly she was just getting soggier.

As the carriage slowly moved forward, towards a pair of magnificent wrought iron gates, Tera shuddered because standing guard on either side was two of those horrible clocked dementors, whose heads seemed to turn to stare into their carriage. A knot of cold sickness formed in her stomach and threatened to wash over her again; she grabbed Fred and George's hands and squeezed her eyes shut, wishing the horrible things away. Far, far away.

The carriages picked up speed on the long sloping drive up to the castle; Tera letting out a breath as she opened her eyes, relieved to be past the dementors. Finally the carriages came to a halt outside the castle, everyone piled out and nearly ran inside to get out of the cold.

Tera followed the boys to the Gryffindor table, smiling and waving at Cedric who was sitting at his normal place at the Hufflepuff table. A few minutes after sitting down, the first years were herded in, all of them looking tiny and quite nervous. Tera spotted Callum, who was sandwiched between two rather large looking children, who looked to be twins. Tera smiled reassuringly when he glanced her way, trying to show him there was no need to be nervous.

Professor Flitwick, a tiny wizard with a shock of extremely white hair, came out with a three legged stool and the ancient sorting hat. After setting them up he started calling out names, Tera zoned out until she heard the name she had been waiting for.

"Howell, Callum!"

Callum slowly made his way up to the stool, nearly tripping over his own feet before sitting down, glancing at his sister right before the hat came down over his eyes. After about 45 tense seconds the sorting hat finally reached its decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Tera along with Fred and George stood up and cheered loudly, clapping Callum on the back as he sat down, receiving a hug from Tera along with a reminder to send a letter home to their mother about the sorting.

Professor Flitwick went on calling out names, but Tera ignored it and read a copy of The Daily Prophet that had ended up in front of her. She frowned down at the screaming face of Sirius Black who looked as though he had seen better days. His dark hair hanging around his face in dirty mats while his waxy skin stretched over his bones like a poorly dressed corpse. Tera couldn't look anymore and tossed the paper away from her, pulling out her book and burying her nose in it, smiling at the twins who were already going over some of the pranks they planned to pull this year.

A little bit after the sorting had concluded Hermione and Harry joined them at the table, Harry looked a bit clammy so Tera pulled a tin of double chocolate chip cookies out of her bag she had with her and set them in front of him with a kind smile. "Eat." She mouthed to him with a nod.

Harry smiled appreciatively and grabbed a couple out of it, then handed it back before turning to talk to Ron.

The headmaster stood up to speak, Professor Dumbledore, though very old, gave off this air of energy and enthusiasm. He had several feet of flowing silver hair and beard, half moon spectacles perched on an extremely crooked nose, and twinkling blue eyes full of wisdom and kindness.

"Welcome!" said Dumbledore, the candlelight dancing across his beard. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…."

Dumbledore cleared his throat before he continued, "As you will all be aware after the search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is currently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

Her paused and Tera shuddered slightly, hating being reminded of those horrible things.

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises – or even Invisibility Cloaks," he added blandly. "It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors," he said.

Tera chuckled lightly as she saw Percy puffed out his chest, staring around impressively. Dumbledore paused again; he looked very seriously around the hall, and nobody moved or made a sound.

"On a happier note," he continued, "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Tera clapped politely, smiling at their newest teacher who looked quite shabby next to all the other teachers who were in their best robes.

"As to our second new appointment." Dumbledore continued as the lukewarm applause for Professor Lupin died away. "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other then Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."

The applause , which was tumultuous at the Gryffindor table in particular roared through the Great Hall.

"Well that explains why our books tried attacking us…" Tera mumbled, remembering locking the vicious book in her closet for most of the summer and loosing her favor pair of sneakers to it.

As Dumbledore started speaking again, Hagrid could be seen wiping his eyes with the tablecloth.

"Well I think that's everything of importance," said Dumbledore. "Let the feast begin!"

The golden plates and goblets filled before their very eyes with food and drink. Tera grabbed a few of her favorites, nibbling on her food while reading the last few chapters of her book, taking an occasional sip of her peach tea.

The hall echoed with laughter and happy chatter, all thoughts of the dementors far from everyone's minds. A while later Dumbledore gave the word that it was time for them all to go to bed, Tera stood and pulled Callum into a hug, congratulating him again on getting into Gryffindor then sending him off with all the other first year Gryffindors. Turning to her boys she smiled sleepily up at them, a small yawn escaping her.

"Awww, is the little Hufflepuff sleepy?" George asked playfully, slinging an arm across her shoulders.

"Noooo…. I'm just yawning as a conversation starter." She replied sarcastically, rubbing her eyes and blinking up at them.

"Come on, its time for all good little Hufflepuffs to go to bed." Fred said, grabbing her hand and starting to walk her towards the Hufflepuff tapestry.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing I'm not a 'Good little Hufflepuff' isn't it?" she chuckled, leaning against him sleepily.

Fred just chuckled and rolled his eyes, yelling out for a Hufflepuff going into the common room to wait a moment. Giving Tera a hug, George and Fred push her towards the Hufflepuff common room. "Get to bed love. We'll see you in the morning."

Tera rubbed her eyes, smiling sleepily. "Alright… night boys." She yawned before heading to her dorm, slipping into the baggy T-shirt she had yet to give back to Fred, and falling into bed, asleep before her head even touched the pillow.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello all! Okay so there are some big excerpts from the book here, but I tried to shift them so they are from Tera's point of view. Also I tried to show a bit of how Callum is. Also I have revealed a tiny secret about Tera, though not the complete secret. So please read and review with your guesses. I also would like to know what you all think of the story and how its going. Lots of love to my readers! Ya'll are amazing.  
**

**Chapter Two:**

**Classes Start, and Sketches Fly**

When Tera entered the Great Hall the next morning, she rolled her eyes at Malfoy who was laughing it up with a large group of Slytherins. Taking her usual spot between her boys, Tera grabbed a biscuit and a couple strips of bacon, making them into a sandwich and finishing it off quickly.

Fred handed Tera some pieces of paper. "New third-year schedules love."

"Thank you Freddie." She said, pulling hers out then setting the rest down on the table. Looking around she spotted Callum at the other end of the table. "I'm going to go make sure my brother knows where he's going. I'll see you boys later." She said, pecking each on the cheek then going to help her brother figure out where all of his classes would be and how to get there quickly.

After helping her brother to figure out his schedule she made her way to her Muggle Studies class, thanking the heavens that her mother had taken the time to teach her about Muggle things. Hopefully it would come in handy during this class.

Looking around Tera saw a few people she knew and some whose names she couldn't quite place, taking a seat in the middle of the class Tera pulled out one of her Muggle books and started to read, waiting for class to start.

Class flew bye, sometime right after it started, the empty chair next to her suddenly had Hermione in it. After that little surprise, everything else went smoothly; everything they were covering was stuff her mum had taught her.

After Muggle Studies Tera quickly made her way to Transfiguration, taking up a seat in the second to back row, pulling out a piece of parchment to take notes. Tera listened animatedly when Professor McGonagall was talking about Animagi (wizards who can transform at will into animals), watching intently as she transformed into a tabby cat with spectacle marking around her eyes. Tera's hands flew across the paper as she quickly tried to sketch out Professor McGonagall's Animagi form.

"Really, what has gotten into you all today?" said Professor McGonagall, turning back into herself with a faint _pop_, and staring all around at the students in her class. "Not that it matters, but that's the first time my transformation's not got applause from a class."

Tera looked up from her sketch, a bit confused as everyone's heads turned towards Harry with an eerie sort of quietness.

Hermione raised her hand. "Please, Professor, we're just had our first Divination class, and we were reading tea leaves, and –"

"Ah, of course," said Professor McGonagall, a frown forming on her face. "There is no need to say anymore, Miss Granger. Tell me, which of you will be dying this year?"

Tera tilted her head in confusion, wondering what in the world was going on.

"Me." said Harry after a long pause.

"I see," said Professor McGonagall, her beady eyes trained on Harry. "Then you should know, Potter, that Sibyll Trelawney has predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at this school. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favorite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues –"

Professor McGonagall broke off, her nostril flaring and going white before she finished more calmly, "Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney –" she paused again, and then said, in a matter-of-fact tone, "You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in."

Tera and Hermione both laughed, rolling their eyes at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. Tera returned to shading her sketch of tabby McGonagall, a smile still on her face over what Professor McGonagall had said.

Lavender Brown was whispering just loud enough to be over heard. "But what about Neville's cup?"

After Transfiguration finish Tera as milled along with the rest of her class off to lunch. She served herself a helping of stew, listening to Hermione, Ron and Harry talk, so thankful she hadn't ended up in Divination. The teacher sounded like a completely nutball.

Looking around Tera spotted her younger brother, chatting and laughing with a few students his age, looks like bugga-boo had the same charisma his father had in his youth. It's nice to know Callum wasn't having a hard time and was making friends quickly.

Tera finished up her lunch, slinging her bag over her shoulder she quickly followed after Hermione who was stomping out of the Great Hall in quite a huff. "Mione! Wait up!" Tera yelled, hurrying to catch up to her. "What's up?

"I completely hate Divination! That's what's up." said Hermione with a growl. "It's a ridiculous class that has no true value what so ever. I can't believe I'm wasting my time with such a useless class!" she vented.

"Well then talk to Professor McGonagall, I'm sure she'd figure out a way to get you out of that class and into one that is better suited for you. It's still early in the year so it wouldn't be too much of a hassle." Tera reasoned while walking with Hermione.

"Thanks Tera, if I don't start liking the class soon, that's exactly what I'll do." Hermione said, smiling at her friend. "Thanks for following me. I really needed someone to vent to, and while I love them to death, Harry and Ron aren't that helpful when it comes to my scholastic frustrations."

"Not a problem Mione, I understand." She said with a smile. "Oh, what class do you have next?" she asked, pulling out her own schedule.

"Uhm…" Hermione pulled hers out and glanced at her next class. "Care of Magical Creatures."

"Oh good! I was so worried I wouldn't know anyone in that class. I was informed that I'd be the only Hufflepuff in my next class because they had to move me from the later class. Too many kids so I got shifted to the earlier class." Tera said, so glad that she's have class with Hermione.

Hermione looked down at her watch and gasped, grabbing Tera's arm and pulling her towards the front door. "We better get moving! We have class soon."

They met up with Harry and Ron, all four of them making their way towards their first ever Care of Magical Creatures class out at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Tera groaned when she spotted a blindingly blonde head with two mountains of muscles on each side. Looks like they'd be sharing the class with Slytherins.

Hagrid was standing on the steps of his hut, waiting for his class to show up for their lesson. Next to him was his large boarhound Fang, who was looking up at his impatient owner with a small whine for attention.

"C'mon, now, get a move on!" he called as the class approached. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!" He said, turning and heading around back of his hut.

Tera blinked, her eye's going wide, he wouldn't lead a group of students into the Forbidden Forest… would he? Luckily though, Hagrid strolled off around the edge of the trees, and five minutes later, they found themselves outside a kind of paddock. There was nothing in there. "What are we supposed to be looking at..?" she whispered to Hermione who just shrugged.

"Everyone gather 'round the fence here!" he called. "That's it – make sure yeh can see – now, firs' thing yeh'll want to do is open yer books –"

"How?" asked the cold and rather drawling voice of one Draco Malfoy.

"Eh?" asked Hagrid, blinking at him.

"How do we open our books?" Malfoy asked again, taking out his copy of _The Monster Book of Monsters_, which was wrapped up like a mummy with a length of rope. Tera too brought hers out, nearly dropping it when it growled and attempted to bite her from behind the muzzle her mom had magically altered to fit her book.

"Hasn' – hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" Hagrid asked, looking around in disappointment.

Tera along with the rest of the class shook her head.

"Yeh've got ter _stroke_ 'em." said Hagrid as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Look –" he took Hermione's copy and ripped off the spellotape that bound it. The book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran a giant forefinger down its spine, the book shivered and became quite docile, falling open and lying quietly in his hands.

"Oh, how silly we've all been!" Malfoy said with a sneer. "We should have _stroked_ them! Why didn't we guess!"

Tera glared at him, there really was no need to be an ass.

"I – I thought they were funny." Hagrid said in an uncertain voice to Hermione.

"Oh, tremendously funny!" said Malfoy with an eye roll. "Really witty, giving us books that try and rip our hands off!"

"Shut up Malfoy." Harry said quietly, looking over at a very down trodden Hagrid.

"Stop being such a bloody git! It's not like your father hasn't given a student a dangerous book." Tera said with a growl, sending a dark glare at him.

Malfoy growled, glaring right back at her. "Leave my father out of this Howell."

"Then shut up and let the Hagrid get on with the lesson." She hissed.

"Righ' then," said Hagrid, who seemed to have lost his train of thought. "so – so yeh've got yer books an' – an' – now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on…"

Hagrid strode away from the group, into the forest and out of sight.

"God, this place is going to the dogs," said Malfoy loudly while looking up at the sky. "That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him –"

"Shut up, Malfoy." Harry said again.

"Careful, Potter, there's a dementor behind you –"

"Piss off Malfoy." Tera said with a glare.

"Oooooooh!" squealed Lavender Brown, pointing towards the opposite side of the paddock.

Trotting toward them were a dozen of the strangest looking creatures Tera had ever seen. From the shoulders back they had the bodies of horses, but the front legs, wings and even their heads seem to be that of giant eagles, with wicked looking, steel-colored beaks and large, brilliantly orange eyes. The talons of their front legs were half a foot long and looked sharp enough shred you to ribbons.

Each of the beasts had thick looking collars around their necks, which were attached to chains that Hagrid held in his vast hands. Hagrid led them in at a jog.

"Gee up, there!" he roared, shaking the chains and urging the creatures forward towards the fence where the class stood. Everyone drew back slightly as Hagrid reached them and tethered the creatures to the fence. "Hippogriffs!" roared Hagrid happily, waving at hand at them like he was announcing the main act of a show. "Beau'iful aren't they?"

Tera looked the animals over, agreeing with Hagrid, they were rather beautiful, in a deadly/majestic sort of way. Tera pulled out her sketch pad, taking a seat on a boulder where she could see them, and started drawing each, making little notes off to the side about what colors would be needed and where on the Hippogriff's they would need to go. Her two favorite were the stormy gray and the inky black one, though dreary in their colors they held themselves with a sort of pride that made them the focal point of Tera's drawings.

"So," said Hagrid, running his hands together and looked from face to face. "if yeah wan' ter come a bit nearer –"

No one moved, other than Tera who moved to a nearer rock, before Harry, Ron and Hermione approached the fence cautiously.

"Now, first thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud," said Hagrid. "Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it night be the last thing yeh do."

Malfoy and his lackeys weren't paying Hagrid the least bit of attention, talking in low voices they had the air of people up to no good. And Tera would know, her best friends were the kings of trouble making.

"Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move," Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn't bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt." He paused, looking around to make sure people understood.

Tera looked up after adding a few tree's as a background to the sketch, glaring at Malfoy who still wasn't listening.

"Right – who wants ter go first?" Hagrid asked, looking from face to face for a volunteer.

Most of the class back away quickly, looking at the hippogriffs with their sharp talons and beaks, fear escaping them in waves. The hippogriffs were tossing their fierce heads and flexing their powerful wings, annoyance at being tethered rolling off them.

"No one?" said Hagrid, a pleading look etched on his face as he looked for someone who would be willing.

"I'll do it." said Harry before Tera could stand and say she would.

Lavender and Parvati both gasped, whispering in scared voices. "Oooh, no Harry, remember your tea leaves!"

Tera watched Harry ignore them, pulling himself over the paddock fence.

"Good man, Harry!" roared Hagrid. " Right then – let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak." He untied one of the chains, which was attached to the beautiful stormy gray hippogriff, and led him away from the others, pulling the collar from around his strong feathery neck.

Everyone was staring wide eyed at the scene, not even daring to breath. Malfoy's eyes were narrowed maliciously, as though waiting for something satisfactory to happen.

Hagrid told Harry what to do, standing ready to jump in if anything were to go amiss.

Tera's hand flew across the page, filling the page with small detailed sketches of Harry's meeting with Buckbeak. Her eye's catching small details of what was going on.

When Harry bowed to the hippogriff Tera held her breath, watching Buckbeak closely, hoping he would bow back. Once he did Tera smiled, looking back down to add that to the cluster of small sketches already on the page.

The class broke into applause, all except for the three grim looking Slytherins who were scowling at Harry like he had pissed in their porridge.

When Harry was hoisted up onto Buckbeak's back Tera took on a worried look, knowing Harry was top notch with a broom but on a hippogriff, things would be fundamentally different then on a broom that you had total control over. She sent up a silent prayer that Harry would be alright.

"Go on, then!" roared Hagrid, slapping the hippogriff's hind-quarters.

Without much warning the twelve-foot wings flapped open on either side of Harry, making him seem even smaller then he already looked on the hippogriff. With a few powerful strokes of its wings the stormy gray hippogriff took off into the air, Harry hanging on for dear life.

Tera watched in quiet horror, poor Harry looked as though he could be thrown at any moment, the fear bleeding through his façade for anyone who knew where to look. As Buckbeak finished his flight around the paddock and headed in for a landing, Tera almost wanted to look away but kept her eyes glued to her cousin, willing him to not fall off to what would surely be a shredding and painful death.

When they finally landed Tera let out a relieved breath, thanking the heavens the Harry didn't fall off. That would have ended very badly indeed.

"Good work, Harry!" roared Hagrid, his eyes twinkling as everyone except the ferret and his two gorillas, cheered loudly, causing a few hippogriffs to ruffle their feathers in protest of the loud noise.

After Harry's success everyone else felt emboldened enough to climb into the paddock with the winged creatures. Hagrid untied the hippogriff, one at a time and soon people were bowing to them nervously. Neville kept running from his cause it just didn't feel like bending its knees.

Tera slowly approached the inky black one, bowing politely and looking up to see if it bowed back, her green eye's staring, unblinkingly into its burnt golden ones.

The black one, which was named Nightwing, tilted its head, giving Tera a thorough look over before bowing back. Tera smiled and approached Nightwing slowly, when she got to his side she patted his beak, smoothing down his feathers and giggling when he nuzzled her hand.

Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle had taken over Buckbeak, who had bowed to Malfoy who was now patting his beak, looking quite arrogant. "This is very easy," Malfoy drawled, loud enough to be heard by all. "I knew it must have been, if Potter could do it…. I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?" he said to Buckbeak with a sneer. "Are you, you great ugly brute?"

It happened so fast that Tera nearly didn't see it. In a flash of razor sharp talons, Buckbeak hit his mark, Malfoy let out a high-pitched scream and fell to the ground, blood blossoming over his robes.

The next second Hagrid was wrestling Buckbeak back into his collar, pulling him away from Malfoy's prone form.

"I'm dying!" screamed Malfoy, curling more in on himself as the rest of the class flew into a panic. "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!"

Tera rolled her eyes at Malfoy's over dramatization, quickly moving to hold Buckbeak's collar so Hagrid could attend to Malfoy. "Shh Buckbeak, the bloody git didn't mean what he said. Shh everything's alright." She said in a soothing voice, sending a glance at Malfoy, though she wasn't fond of him, she didn't want him to die.

"Yer not dyin'" said Hagrid, who's face had gotten very white. He picked up Malfoy and started towards the gate. "Someone help me – gotta get him outta here –"

Hermione ran to open the gate for Hagrid, staring in horror at the long deep gashes on Malfoy's arm, blood dripping from the wounds as Hagrid ran with him towards the castle.

Tera frowned, this incident didn't bode well for poor Buckbeak, who was nuzzling her hand and making a clicking sound of contentment. "Stupid git, had to piss off something with talons and a temper." she mumbled under her breath, smoothing down Buckbeak's feathers on his neck before following the rest of the class to the castle.

The Slytherins were all having a fit over what had happened. Shouting and making asses of themselves.

"They should fire him straight away!" came Pansy Parkinson's nasally voice, clogged with tears.

"It's was Malfoy's fault!" defended Dean Thomas while Tera nodded in agreement, glaring at Crabbe and Goyle who were flexing their hulking muscles threateningly.

Everyone climbed the stone steps into the deserted entrance hall, Pansy quickly heading towards the hospital wing to check on Draco, the Slytherins muttering as the made their way down to their dungeon common room, and the Gryffindors processing upstairs to Gryffindor Tower.

Tera headed to the Hufflepuff common room, grabbing a book, something that squirmed as she hid it in her pocket and few other things; she then headed to the library for a bit of studying.

The twins came across Tera in the library; she seemed to be talking to her pocket.

"What you up to there gorgeous?" asked Fred as he snuck up and stuck his head on her shoulder.

Poor girl nearly fell off of her seat in shock, "O-oh... Hi Freddie..." she said, moving her robes a bit to hide the thing squirming in her robes inner pocket.

"What's that you got there love?" asked Fred with a mischievous smirk.

"Something you shouldn't have in the library I'm guessing?" said George, coming up on her other side.

Tera looked around and sighed, "Oh fine... yes she's something I shouldn't have in the library." she said as she started moving her robes to get what was in her pocket.

"She?" asked Fred as him and George both looked at her with raised brows.

Tera then pulled a small calico tabby kitten out of her pocket, the kitten mewed and squirmed, wanting back in her nice warm pocket. "Lady brought this little one home to me about 3 weeks ago... she died the next day..." said Tera with a small sniffle, holding the kitten close to her chest and kissing the top of her head.

"Oh... Lady died?" asked Fred as he put and arm around Tera's crying form, pulling her against his chest, the small kitten squirming in between them.

George patted Tera's back somewhat awkwardly, reaching between his brother and Tera to grab the kitten before she got smushed.

"There there love, she's in a better place. And I'm sure she brought you this little one to keep you company after she left. It was her time." said Fred while rocking her back and forth and petting her hair soothingly.

"You're a cute one you are." George said while scratching the kitten behind her ear. "Have you got a name for her yet?" he asked while teasing the little thing with a loose thread from his robes sleeve.

"Y-yes," said Tera looking up from Fred's shoulder and sniffling again. "I've na-named her Pixie. B-because she s-so colorful and ge-gets into things a l-lot." she said with a small chuckle.

"Cute name. It definitely fits her." said George with a small smirk, holding the little kitten up in front of his face and laughing as she pawed at his nose.

Tera smiled, wiping a tear from her eye as she chuckled lightly. "Yeah.." looking down at her watch she gasped, standing up and grabbing the boys arms, pulling them towards the door. "It's almost time for dinner, come on!"

Once they made it to the Great Hall, Tera followed the boys to their spot at Gryffindor table, forgoing the steak-and-kidney pudding and grabbing a chicken pot pie, feeding small bits of chicken to the mewling kitten in her pocket.

Lavender Brown tried to get a look at Pixie, cooing about how cute she was then screaming and glaring when the kitten clawed her hand after trying to pick her up. Tera just laughed at this, cuddling Pixie to her chest and kissing her furry little head.

After dinner Tera pecked the twins on their cheeks then bid them farewell, wanting to spend some time by herself. After dropping Pixie off in her dormitory, Tera quickly and quietly made her way out of the castle, moving only within the shadows. She just needed some time out in the cool air, walking within the outer rim of the forest to help perfect the one thing she still kept secret from her boys. She hated keeping it from them, but just wasn't quite ready from them to know.

As she moved towards the Forbidden Forest, her form rippled, her body taking on a completely different shape until she was moving on all fours, her body covered in a coat of russet colored fur. Her green eyes reflected the bit of moonlight as she turned her head, her sharp eyes picking up three forms heading towards Hagrid's hut. Looks like three Gryffindor's were out for a stroll, Tera slunk along, wondering what the three were up to.

They reached Hagrid's hut and knocked, entering after a growled reply. Following closely behind, Tera raised up on her hind legs, looking in through the window to see Hagrid, sitting there with a sullen look on his face, and a tankard of what smelled to be mead in his meaty hand. They talked for a while before Hermione took the tankard away from a very drunk Hagrid, moving to dump it outside.

Tera moved quickly, running along the side of the building then out to the forest, hoping she hadn't been seen. She raised her nose, scenting the air, her head turning to look deeper into the forest, something was different then it had been last year, but she couldn't put her finger on it. It was as though a new being had been in the area recently, something that didn't quite belong.

Shaking her head she continued on, training herself in her current form, so as to be able to run, act and even fight as this body should. To think, it had been almost 4 years since she had been given this ability. While she loved her great aunt to death, there were times she wondered why she would think it was a good idea to do something like this to a 9 year old girl. Shaking her head, Tera moved through the forest, ending up near the paddock where the hippogriffs were resting.

Tera shifted back to her human form with a _pop_, then slowly climbed into the paddock, bowing to all the hippogriffs, smiling when they bowed back. She patted Nightwing's beak lightly, humming as she smoothed out his ruffled inky black feathers. "You are quite beautiful aren't you boy?" she complemented, laughing lightly when Buckbeak bumped her elbow, seeking a bit of attention for himself. "Oh and you are too sweetling." She said with a sweet smile, running her hand across the top of his be-feathered head.

After spending a bit of time with the hippogriffs, Tera walked to the edge of the paddock, shifting back to her furry form and slipping out, trotting back towards the castle. She got to the outside of the entrance hall she shifted back and headed inside. Looking around she slunk to the Hufflepuff tapestry, softly uttering the password. "Do not shun those who are different, learn from them and better yourself." As the badger bowed, Tera pulled the tapestry out of the way and headed to her dorm, quickly changing into a baggy T-shirt and slipping under the covers with her sleeping kitten purring against her.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello my darling! Sorry it has taken me forever to update. DX I have been very busy, but I lovingly offer up this chapter in hopes that you don't wish to maim me or strap me to a chair and hold me hostage until the updates flow...  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, there are excerpts from the books in this chapter. I do however own Tera, her family and animals along with this story that has thus far been my longest, most continueous brain child. Lots of love to you all.  
**

**~Angel  
**

**Chapter Three:**

**Silly Boggarts and Protective Big Sisters**

The next day classes went as usual, that is until Tera had her first Defense Against the Dark Arts class. The teacher, Professor Lupin, though still rather scraggly looking, at least looked as though he wasn't going to fall over and die from starvation. She sat intently, pulling out her book as he walked in.

"Good afternoon," he said, with a small smile. "Would you please put all your books back in your bags, todays will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wands."

Tera looked around, shrugging at Harry before putting her book away, wondering exactly what they were going to do then.

"Right then," Professor Lupin said with a clap of his hands, rubbing them together and looking around. "If you'd follow me." He said, walking out the door at a slow enough pace for the class to get up and follow.

Tera slung her book bag over her shoulder, following a bit behind Harry and Ron. When the class turned a corner and came across Peeve the Poltergeist, Tera frowned. She had a bad run in with Peeves once. Took her three days to get the paint out of her hair. Luckily it had been over the weekend and no one had seen her with her lime green hair other than the twins, who had laughed their bloody arses off.

Today Peeves was floating upside down, his butt wiggling in the air as he stuffed the nearest keyhole with vivid pink chewing gum. When he finally looked up at Professor Lupin, who was standing two feet away from him, he smiled big and started singing, wiggling his curly-toed feet. "Loony, loopy, Lupin." he sang. "Loony, loopy, Lupin, loony loopy, Lupin –"

Peeves, who usually showed at least a tiny bit of respect to the teachers, was having a grand time with his little song.

Tera glanced at Professor Lupin, trying to see how he'd react to Peeve's little song. To her surprise, he was just smiling about the whole thing.

"I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you, Peeves." He said with a pleasant chuckle. "Mr. Filch won't be able to get in to his brooms."

Peeves, of course, didn't listen and instead blew a loud, and very wet raspberry at the Professor.

He just sighed, taking out his wand and looking back at the class. "This is a useful little spell, please watch closely." He said, raising the wand to shoulder height, aiming at Peeves and saying _"Waddiwasi!" _

Quicker than you could bat your eye, the wad of gum shot out of the keyhole and jammed itself in Peeves left nostril; he quickly whirled upright and zoomed away, cursing up a storm.

Tera chuckled, she'd have to remember that one, it might come in handy latter on in life. They set off again, everyone in the class looking at the shabby looking Professor with a bit more respect than before. He led them down a second corridor and stopped, right outside of the staffroom door.

"Inside please." said Professor Lupin, holding the door open for the class to enter.

The staffroom was full of old, mismatched chairs and was empty except for one teacher. Professor Snape was sitting in a low armchair, his ever brooding look turning even sourer as the class filed in. A sneer formed as Professor Lupin came in and made to close the door.

"Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this." He rose out of his chair and strode to the door, his robes billowing behind him. As he reached the doorway, he turned on his heel and said, "Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear."

Tera frowned, patting Neville's arm as he turned a brilliant shade of red, did Snape honestly need to bully Neville so much. The poor boy already had enough to deal with from other students like Malfoy.

Professor Lupin just raised his eyebrows. "I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage if the operation," he said. "and I am sure he will perform it admirably."

Neville's face went even redder if that was even possible. Snape's lip curled in a sneer as he left the room, closing the door with a snap.

"Now, then," said Professor Lupin, waving the class farther into the room. Where there stood an old wardrobe that held the teacher's spare robes, as Professor Lupin got closer to it, the wardrobe shook, banging off the wall. "Nothing to worry about," he said calmly as a few student's jumped back. "There's a boggat in there."

Tera stared at Lupin like he was nuts. A boggat, seriously? She remembered her mother trying to get rid of one that moved into the attic when she was still quite little. It was horrible hearing her mother crying for Callum's father, who was the shape the boggart took on when her mother had confronted it. Those things are horrible, when she had ran into the room to comfort her mother, the boggart had turned its sights on her and shifted into a huge wasp that buzzed menacingly at her. Her mother had quickly taken back its attention and yelled a spell, getting rid of the horrible creature.

"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces," said Professor Lupin. "Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks – I've even seen one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. _This _one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice. So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what _is_ a boggart?"

Tera shook away the old memory, and looked up, smiling as Hermione's hand flew up into the air. Typical.

"It's a shape-shifter. It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most." said Hermione.

"Couldn't have put it better myself," Lupin said as Hermione glowed with pleasure. "So the boggart sitting in the darkness within had not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears. This means," said Professor Lupin, ignoring Neville's little sputter of terror, though smiling when Tera rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "that we have a huge advantage over the boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?"

Harry seemed to think about it for a minute or so, while Hermione bounced around next to him with her hand in the air- she of course already knew the answer though was waiting to answer it if Harry didn't know it. "Er – because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be?"

"Precisely," said Professor Lupin, and Hermione put her hand down with a disappointed sigh.

"Mione, you don't need to answer everything, just be happy you had the right answer, even if you weren't the one to give it..." Tera whispered to the disappointed girl, who smiled back at her in thanks.

"It's always best to have company when you're dealing with a boggart. He becomes confused. Which should he become, a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug? I once saw a boggart make that very mistake – tries to frighten two people at once and turned himself into half a slug. Not remotely frightening."

Tera made a face at that, it sounded icky, squishy and quite disgusting.

"The charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a boggart is _laughter_. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing. We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please… _riddikulus!_"

"_Riddikulus!_" said the class together.

"Good, very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in, Neville." said Professor Lupin.

The wardrobe gave another violent shake, though it didn't shake nearly as much as poor Neville who looked as though he was being led to the gallows.

Tera pushed Neville forwards, giving him an encouraging smile and a shooing motion, though internally she was hoping this wouldn't be too taxing on his fragile nerves. "Go on Neville, you'll be fine." She whispered kindly as she watched him gulp and slowly walk forward.

"Right, Neville." said Professor Lupin. "First things first; what would you say is the thing that frightens you most in the world?"

Tera watched as Neville's lips moved, but not even a peep came out. If she had to think about it, his answer would likely either be his Gran or possibly even Professor Snape. Most likely the latter since he took every chance he could get to belittle poor Neville.

Professor Lupin asked him again in a cheerful voice, his eyes showing a sort of understanding kindness.

Neville tried again after looking around at everyone, hoping for someone to spare him before the words came out as barely a whisper. "Professor Snape."

Nearly everyone in the class laughed, Neville even gave an apologetic grin while scratching the back of his head. Tera just smiled sympathetically and looked over at Professor Lupin who just looked thoughtful.

"Professor Snape… hmmm… Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?"

"Er – yes," said Neville in a nervous squeak. "But – I don't want the boggart to turn into her either."

This Tera chuckled at, remembering hearing talk of how strict and oddly dressed the elderly Mrs. Longbottom is.

"No, no, you misunderstand me," said Lupin, now smiling. "I wonder, could you tell us what sort of clothes your grandmother usually wears?"

Neville blinked, a bit started at the question but replied anyways. "Well… always the same hat. A tall one with a stuffed vulture on top. And a long dress… green, normally… and sometimes a fox-fur scarf."

"And a handbag?" inquired Professor Lupin with a mischievous smile.

"A big red one." said Neville with a nod.

"Right then!" said Professor Lupin, clapping his hands together enthusiastically. "Can you picture those clothes very clearly, Neville? Can you see them in your mind's eye?"

"Yes." Said Neville uncertainly, not sure if he wanted to know what was going to happen next.

"When the boggat bursts out of this wardrobe, Neville, and sees you, it will assume the form of Professor Snape," said Lupin. "And you will raise your wand – thus – and cry _"Riddikulus"_ – and concentrate hard on your grandmother's clothes. If all goes well, Professor Boggart Snape will be forced into that vulture-topped hat, and that green dress, with that big red handbag."

This caused a ripple of loud laughter from the entire class, which also resulted in the wardrobe wobbling more violently and Neville looking at it like a rabid animal would jump out at any moment and violently rip him to pieces.

"If Neville is successful, the boggat is likely to shift his attention to each of us in turn." said Professor Lupin. "I would like each of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical…"

Tera thought about her fear of wasps, and possibly turning its stinger into a lit firecracker or maybe into a toy sword, but then her mind started thinking about it turning into the people she cared about, their lifeless body's staring at her with blood rolling out of their mouths. She gave a shudder, looking around to make sure no one saw it, and noticed Harry shuddering as well. Looking back to the front she forced herself to focus on wasps and toy swords.

"Everyone ready?" said Professor Lupin.

Tera nodded, hoping that it would take the wasp form and not the form of her loved ones dying. Focusing on that she watched as everyone else nodded their assent too.

"Neville, we're going to back away," said Professor Lupin. "Let you have a clear field, all right? I'll call the next person forward… Everyone back, now, so Neville can get a clear shot —"

Tera, along with everyone else retreated, backing against the walls, leaving Neville alone beside the wardrobe. He looked pale and frightened, but he had pushed up the sleeves of his robes and was holding his wand ready.

"On the count of three, Neville," said Professor Lupin, who was pointing his own wand at the handle of the wardrobe. "One — two — three —now!"

A jet of sparks blasted from the end of Professor Lupin's wand and hit the knob, causing the wardrobe burst open. Hook-nosed and menacing, Professor Snape stepped out, his eyes flashing at Neville with a look of predatory contempt.

Neville backed away, his wand up and shaking as his mouth flapped wordlessly. Snape was bearing down upon him, reaching inside his robes.

"R — r — riddikulus!" squeaked Neville.

There was a noise like a whip cracking. Snape stumbled; he was wearing a long, lace-trimmed dress and a towering hat topped with a moth-eaten vulture, and he was swinging a huge crimson handbag. A scowl of annoyance graced his features as he looked at his new wardrobe in disgust, before turning his sights back on Neville.

There was a roar of laughter; Tera nearly snorting at the ridiculousness of it all as the boggart paused, confused, and Professor Lupin shouted, "Parvati! Forward!"

Parvati walked forward, her face set. Snape rounded on her. There was another crack, and where he had stood was a bloodstained, bandaged mummy; its sightless face was turned to Parvati and it began to walk toward her very slowly, dragging its feet, its stiff arms rising —

"Riddikulus!" cried Parvati with a slight flourish of her wand.

A bandage unraveled at the mummy's feet; it became entangled, fell face forward, and its head rolled off, a low moan emitting from it.

"Seamus!" roared Professor Lupin.

Seamus darted past Parvati, shifting his feet like he was getting pumped for a fight.

_Crack!_ Where the mummy had been was a woman with floor-length black hair and a skeletal, green-tinged face — a banshee. She opened her mouth wide and an unearthly sound filled the room, a long, wailing shriek that had Tera holding her ears in pained annoyance —

"Riddikulus!" shouted Seamus.

The banshee made a rasping noise and clutched her throat; her voice was gone. Tera smirked and let go of her ears, a chuckle escaping her at the banshee's expression.

_Crack!_ The banshee turned into a rat, which chased its tail in a circle, then —_crack!-_ became a

rattlesnake, which slithered and writhed before —_crack!_ — becoming a single, bloody eyeball.

"It's confused!" shouted Lupin. "We're getting there! Dean!"

Dean hurried forward.

_Crack!_ The eyeball became a severed hand, which flipped over and began to creep along the floor like a crab.

"Riddikulus!" yelled Dean, nearly jabbing it with his wand.

There was a snap, and the hand was trapped in a mousetrap.

"Excellent! Ron, you next!"

Ron leapt forward.

_Crack!_

Quite a few people screamed. A giant spider, six feet tall and covered in hair, was advancing on Ron, clicking its pincers menacingly. For a moment, Ron seemed to have frozen. Then —

"Riddikulus!" he bellowed, and the spider's legs vanished; it rolled over and over; Lavender Brown squealed in terror and ran out of its way before it came to rest at Harry's feet. He lifted his wand, but before he could do anything Professor Lupin came running forward.

"Here!" shouted Professor Lupin. _Crack!_

The legless spider had vanished. For a second, everyone looked wildly around to see where it was. Then they saw a silvery-white orb hanging in the air in front of Lupin, who said, "Riddikulus!" almost lazily.

Tera looked at the Professor oddly, if she wasn't mistaken… the boggart had turned into a full moon… her eyes widened and she started silently studying the Professor more thoroughly, an idea forming in her head from a book she had looked through over the summer about diseases, infections and other magical ailments/issues of the wizarding world.

_Crack!_

"Forward, Neville, and finish him off!" said Lupin as the Boggart landed on the floor as a cockroach. _Crack!_ Snape was back. This time Neville charged forward looking determined, his eyes showing a fierce need to prove himself. Tera smiled, yep, he is definitely a Gryffindor, no matter what anyone says about his awkwardness.

"Riddikulus!" he shouted, and they had a split second's view of Snape in his lacy dress before Neville let out a great "Ha!" of laughter, and the boggart exploded, bursting into a thousand tiny wisps of smoke, and was gone. Well that was kind of pretty, in a dead and gone, morbid sort of way.

"Excellent!" cried Professor Lupin as the class broke into applause. "Excellent, Neville. Well done, everyone… Let me see… five points to Gryffindor for every person to tackle the boggart — ten for Neville because he did it twice… and five each to Hermione and Harry."

"But I didn't do anything," said Harry.

"You and Hermione answered my questions correctly at the start of the class, Harry," Lupin said lightly. "Very well, everyone, an excellent lesson. Homework, kindly read the chapter on boggarts and summarize it for me… to be handed in on Monday. That will be all."

Gathering up her things, Tera sent one last look back at Professor Lupin, her face showing he was like a puzzle to her, one that she would figure out soon enough.

Following along after the rest of the class Tera chuckled at their excitement, though shook her head when Lavender mentioned Professor Lupin being scared of crystal balls. If only it were that easy, she thought to herself, knowing for a fact, that it hadn't been a crystal ball floating there.

"That was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson we've ever had, wasn't it?" said Ron excitedly as they made their way back to the classroom to get their bags. Tera packing hers with her because she had brought it along just in case.

"He seems like a very good teacher," said Hermione approvingly. "But I wish I could have had a turn with the Boggart —"

"What would it have been for you?" said Ron, sniggering. "A piece of homework that only got nine out of ten?"

Tera giggled at that, which resulted in Ron blushing, a silly smile on his face. After consoling Hermione, who dearly wanted to chew Ron out for teasing her, Tera left her friends to go on about her day.

Things were rather uneventful, that is until Tera decided to go pay a visit to her two favorite red headed prank kings. On her way up to Gryffindor tower, Tera ha happened upon Malfoy and his goons doing their normal thing, which of course is picking upon other students. But when she saw exactly who they were tormenting, Tera saw red.

"Malfoy! What the bloody fucking hell do you think you doing?" asked an infuriated Tera as she stomped over to them.

"Just breaking in the 1st years Howell. What's it to you?" he asked with a sneer, gesturing with his hand to the cowering young first year girl, and the boy who was standing in front of her in a defensive stance, a scratch on his cheek and his lip bloodied, glaring at him through his messy black hair.

Tera growled and pointed her wand at Malfoy's face threateningly, glaring at him fiercely. "Callum, here. Now. And bring her with you." she said in a strict voice, her eyes never leaving Malfoy as the boy gathered up the girl to follow Tera's orders, shooting a glare over his shoulder at the three Slytherins as he passed them.

"So how is it you know this little Gryffindor Howell? Hmm?" Malfoy asked while staring her down, his arms crossed like there wasn't a wand pointed at him menacingly, though he would shoot discreet nervous glances at it.

"Well if you must know Malfoy, I very much don't appreciate bloody inbred gits such as yourself picking on MY little brother." she said with a growl, malic flashing in her green eyes. "Now, you have two options here Malfoy, you can walk away… or I can MAKE you leave, and you'll need to visit the hospital wing once your gone. Take you pick, but make it quick, I'm not a very patient woman."

Malfoy's eyes widened just slightly before narrowing, a growl escaping him before he turned and stomped away, his robes billowing behind him in a way reminiscent of the Head of his house. His two gorillas lumbered off after him, sending back a threatening glance at Tera and the two first years, which was returned tenfold by Tera- who was giving off a deadly aura.

Once they were gone, Tera let out a sigh and turned to the first years she had saved. "Callum, how did you let yourself get into that predicament?" she asked, touching his scraped cheek lightly, checking him over for any other injuries.

"Tera, I'm fine, really. Those three were picking on Calliope here, calling her dirty names, all because she's muggle-born. I happened upon it, and I just couldn't let them do it, couldn't let them call her that dirty name… so I kind of threw a punch, and got one of the ugly duo in the nose before they could get me… I know you said to not fight, but I think this incident was justified!" argued Callum, wincing when she brushed his busted lip with her thumb.

"Callum, I'm not going to chew you out. That was a very noble thing you did. I'm proud of you. But try not to let them pummel you so bad next time you try to save someone." Tera said with a smile, holding her wand up and muttering a simple healing spell she had seen her mother do hundreds of times. "There, now try not to mess up my healing job by getting in another fight."

Callum scratched the back of his head, a smile on his face. "Alright sis.."

Turning her attention to the girl, she smiled soothingly. "Hello Callie, may I call you Callie?" After getting a shy nod of assent she grabbed the girls hands and held them in hers, looking into her teary honey colored eyes. "I know you just went through quite an ordeal sweetie, but I do hope this has taught you to try not to wander the castle alone. Unfortunately bloody gits such as Malfoy are rather common, and you being muggle-born isn't going to make things any easier on you." She said, wiping a tear out of the girl's eye.

"Yeah! Stick with me, I'll make sure they don't pick on you anymore!" said Callum, a blush spreading across his cheeks as soon as he said that.

Tera smiled, rolling her eyes before focusing on the girl again. "Now, are you hurt anywhere? No? Okay, let's get you back up to your house and to bed. I think you've had a rough enough day, don't you?" Tera put an arm around the girls shoulder and walked with the two of them up to Gryffindor tower, plugging her ears as Callum gave the password, them helping the girl through the port hole.

"Tera! Whoa- what happened?" the twins asked as the saw her come in with the two rumpled first years, a second year who looked to be Callie's brother coming up and taking over care of the girl, giving Callum and Tera both a nod of thanks.

"Malfoy, that's what. The bloody git was harassing the poor girl, called her that horrible name for muggle-born's, and Callum came to her rescue, got a busted lip in the process." Tera said, growling slightly when she talked.

Fred and George both cracked their knuckles in annoyance, but then clapped Callum on the back, praising him. "Good job, I hope you at least landed a punch on one of them."

Callum puffed up like a prize rooster showing off how tough it looks, taking the bit of praise like it meant the world to him. "I socked one of the idiots with Malfoy in the nose." he stated proudly.

The twins smiled, ruffling his messy black hair. "Good on ya mate!"

Tera just rolled her eyes, pushing Callum along toward the dormitories. "Off to bed with you now. One hour of studying then go and get some shut eye." She said in her strict motherly voice.

"Yes mother dearest." Callum mumbled before running off to his room before Tera could retaliate.

Chuckling she turned back to her boys, noticing the look in their eyes. "Are you two planning something sinisterly amazing again?" she asked her voice holding an exasperate fondness to it.

"Maaaybe….." they replied with identical smiles of innocence.

"Those smiles aren't fooling anyone, if anything you're just scaring the first years." Tera said with a chuckle, going to sit down on the well-worn sofa.

The twins just laughed at this, sitting down on either side of her and resting their heads on her shoulders. "Always concerned about the young'uns." George said with a chuckle.

"Well someone has to be, besides my brother happens to be a first year, so of course I'd worry." She said with a small huff.

"He'll be fine love, heck he stood up to Malfoy and his goons!" said Fred while playing with a bit of her hair which she had actually worn down today.

"Yeah and it got him a busted lip. What if I hadn't shown up? He could have gotten seriously hurt by those bloody gits." She growled, her hands clenched in her lap.

"Ter, you need to learn to let him fight his own fights. You can't always be there to protect him." said George reasonably.

At this Tera just grumbled, knowing that he was right. "It doesn't mean it's easy… I don't want him to get hurt…"

"Unfortunately love, boys will be boys." Fred said with a kinda smile up at her.

"We learn from our lumps and bumps." George added, patting her consolingly on the knee.

Tera sighed, deciding to let the subject drop and just enjoy time with her boys, laughing and playing cards with them until she had to head to her own common room.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello all, okay so I have the 4th chapter done, and I made it longer then normal! I hope this appeases you for now... *gets ready to hide just in case* I hope to have get to working on the next chapter and have it out soon.. I would love if ya'll would give me the motivation though to hammer it out. Please review, tell me how I'm doing and maybe help beat down the dust bunnies that have taken up residency in my brain. Or even draw me a pic of Tera and Fred. If you want a link to my online profile for Tera just let me know. I have a few reference pics of her there along with her info, some that you may yet know o.o So... love me, review and motivate me!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of it characters. But I do own the vast majority of this story, Tera and her family. Thank you and have a good day.  
**

**Chapter Four:**

**Hogsmeade Visit and a Surprising Question**

September quickly turned to October, and everyone started to buzz. Quidditch season was coming and her boys were spending a lot of their time on the Quidditch pitch along with the rest of the Gryffindor team practicing their butts off. So she was spending most of her time in the library with Hermione who was happy for the company and the chance to talk to a girl, since there are just some things you just don't talk to your guyfriends about.

The time she does get to spend with her boys is mostly relaxing, joking a bit, the occasional prank and sometimes them reading over Tera's shoulder while she reads one of her Muggle books by Tamora Pierce.

On one of the days that Tera was waiting for the boys up in their dormitory, she awoke with a start. There was a loud commotion downstairs, so naturally she got up to see what the matter was. When she reached the bottom she saw George launching himself at Crookshanks, miss and land on his face. This she couldn't help but giggle at a bit before offering a hand to help him up, then turning and heading back upstairs since she didn't want to listen to Ron and Hermione argue anymore.

Time flew and soon it was Halloween. Tera donned her usual festive garbs which included candy corn earrings, skull hairpin, and a black and orange scarf this year. She quickly checked to make sure she had her permission form and her money bag, and then left her dormitory, bumping into Cedric on the way out of the common room. "Oh, hello Cedric." She greeted with a smile.

"Hullo Tera, I see you're going to Hogsmeade too, care to walk with me?" he asked kindly, holding the tapestry out of the way to let her through.

"Sure why not. I have to meet up with the boys at Zonko's later but I have some free time until then." She replied while digging her permission form out of her bag to hand to Filch, completely missing the frown that formed on Cedric's face at the mention of her usual red-haired companions.

"Great.." Cedric mumbled, also handing his form to Filch and then following after the younger girl, a small smile spreading across his face as he watched her take in Hogsmeade village in awe.

"This place is amazing!" Tera laughed, spinning around with her arms in the air before stopping and looking around, trying to figure out where she wanted to go first.

"Come on, let's go get a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks, it's just the thing to warm you up on a nippy day like this." Cedric said while putting a guiding hand at the small of her back, noticing her already rosy nose and cheeks.

Tera smiled, a light blush darkening the rosiness of her cheeks as he led her into the Three Broomsticks and to a table. She looked around at the array of people around them as Cedric ordered their butterbeers, smiling at Hermione who rolled her eyes with a smile as she listened to Ron's excited chatter.

When their butterbeers arrived Tera sipped at hers, a brilliant smile forming across her face at how much it really did warm her. "Thanks for this Cedric, it's really sweet of you." She said, blushing brightly when he wiped a bit of butterbeer foam off her upper lip with his thumb.

"Not a problem, I actually wanted to ask you something.." he replied, sipping at his own butterbeer.

"Okay, shoot." She said with a small laugh, wondering what he wanted to ask.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The twins looked up with a smile when Tera made her way into Zonko's, wanting her opinion on if they should buy stink pellets in bulk, or just enough to get them by until the next time they would be in Hogsmeade.

"Ter! Over here!" yelled George, waving their little Hufflepuff over, frowning when he noticed her kind of dazed look.

Just as Tera reached them she tripped and would have landed on her face if Fred hadn't been fast enough to catch her, and without dropping any stink pellets either.

"Whoa there love, you need to be more careful." He said, righting her and moving a bit of hair behind her ear.

"You okay Ter? You seem a bit out of it…" George stated, pointing out her semi-vacant stare.

"Huh? Oh, sorry about that…" Tera mumbled, a blush on her face. "Just had a rather surprising day thus far…"

"How so?" the twins asked, moving out of an older student's way but also staying near the stink pellets they were considering purchasing.

"Well first I think I saw a troll at the Three Broomsticks and then…" she trailed off, her blush brightening to a shade that put their hair to shame.

"And then what Ter?"

"You can't start a story and then leave us hanging love." Fred said with a laugh.

"I… I think I have a boyfriend…" she whispered, just barely loud enough for them to hear.

"What!?" they both asked in shock. "How do you 'think' you have a boyfriend? Who is it?" they asked like over protective brothers, although mostly on George's part.

"Well… I went to the Three Broomsticks with Cedric and he asked me to be his girlfriend, and I think I said yes.."

"You think you said yes..?" Fred asked with a frown.

"Well I kinda stuttered in surprise and nodded. And then he smiled, pecked me on the cheek and said he'd see me at dinner, then went to catch up with some of his friends.. So I'm assuming I have a boyfriend now." She said, looking down at the floor shyly.

George just sighed, knowing this would happen eventually, but he just hadn't expected it so soon. She was only 13, though she was mature for her age and rather pretty too.. so it makes some sense. But he can't help but feel protective of the girl, she was like a little sister to him and he'd protect her just like he would Ginny.

Fred on the other hand didn't like this at all, what in the world is Cedric doing asking out Tera? Their little Hufflepuff is too young for him to be looking at romantically. If this guy hurt Tera, there will be a high price to pay. No one hurts _his_ girl and gets away with it.

Tera blinked, not understanding the different, yet extremely protective vibes coming off her boys. "Uhm… guys? Hullo…? Can we just enough our time in Hogsmeade please?"

Both boys blinked, coming out of their own thoughts. "Yeah, sure. What do you think?" they asked, pointing at the two stink pellet deals.

Tera thought about it for a minute, and then pointed at the bulk one. "You can never have enough stink pellets for pranks on Filch, besides in the long run, it's a better deal." Tera pointed out, a small smile on her face as she walked with them up to the register as they made their purchases.

The walk back up to the castle was made in relative silence, which slightly annoyed Tera, who stomped in front of the twins and stopped, facing them with a frown. "You know me having a boyfriend doesn't change anything right? You two are still my best mates, and nothing is going to change that." She said, her eyes softening as she looked at them.

Fred and George both smiled, pulling her into a hug with a laugh. "We know… we're just protective of you Tera. We don't want you to get hurt."

"I seriously doubt Cedric could hurt me. I'm tougher then you two seem to think." She said with a chuckle. "But I'm still touched you two care enough to be protective of me."

"Of course we are! You're our little Hufflepuff." George chuckled, ruffling her hair and full out laughing when she puffed her cheeks up and glared at him, trying to fix her now frizzy mess of hair.

Fred laughed and rolled his eyes, tugging on her braid playfully. "Come on, it's almost dinner time and I for one am famished."

About ten minutes after reaching the castle Fred, George and Tera all entered the Great Hall. It had been decorated with hundreds and hundreds of candle-filled pumpkins, a cloud of fluttering live bats, and many flaming orange streamers, which were swimming lazily across the stormy ceiling like brilliant water snakes.

Upon entering the twins headed to their usual spots, Tera moved to follow them, but noticed Cedric waving her over so she went to talk to him. "Hullo Cedric, what's up?"

"Well I figured my girlfriend could eat dinner with me at _our_ houses table." He said with a smile that was ever so slightly strained.

"Oh… well I guess… but I normally eat with Fred and George…" she mumbled uncertainly, looking over at her boys.

"Well I'd love it if you'd eat with me from now on." Cedric said, patting the seat next to him and giving her a cheery smile, his white teeth flashing.

"Alright…" she mumbled, sitting down, but not before seeing the disappointed looks flash across her boy's faces. _'Sorry…'_ she mouthed to them, longing to take those looks from their faces. With a sigh she turned and sat properly, serving herself up a small helping of food and halfheartedly listening to Cedric and his friends talk about Quidditch.

The feast finished with an entertainment provided by the Hogwarts ghosts. They popped out of the walls and tables to do a bit of formation gliding; Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, had a great success with a reenactment of his own botched beheading.

Tera sighed, wanting nothing more than to fall into her bed and pass out, though she also wanted to smack Malfoy, who shouted through the crowd as they all left the hall, "The Dementors send their love, Potter!"

Before Tera could fall into a deep sleep though, she was shaken awake. Following after Susan and Hannah she left the common room and shuffled into the Great Hall with the rest of the school, looking around in sleepy confusion. What in the world was going on?

"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle," Professor Dumbledore told them as Professors McGonagall and Flitwick closed all doors into the hall. "I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately," he added to Percy, who was looking immensely proud and important. "Send word with one of the ghosts."

Professor Dumbledore paused, about to leave the hall, and said, "Oh, yes, you'll be needing…"

One casual wave of his wand and the long tables flew to the edges of the hall and stood themselves against the walls; another wave, and the floor was covered with hundreds of squashy purple sleeping bags.

"Sleep well," said Professor Dumbledore, closing the door behind him.

The hall immediately began to buzz excitedly; the Gryffindors were telling the rest of the school what had just happened.

"Everyone into their sleeping bags!" shouted Percy. "Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!"

Tera grumbled, shivering because her jammie bottoms and baggy t-shirt weren't keeping her very warm. Grabbing herself a sleeping bag and wiggling into it she hopped over to a spot and sat down, ignoring some people's giggles at how silly she looked, before pulling it up over her head and laying down, her eyes getting heavier every second.

She only peeked out when she felt someone lay down next to her. Peeking out she came nose to nose with Fred, who laying to her right, turning her head she saw Cedric had lain down to her left though about a foot away after being glared at by the twins.

"The lights are going out now!" Percy shouted. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"

Tera just rolled her eyes and yawned, snuggling into the sleeping bag and dozing off, hoping to actually be able to sleep this time.

The candles all went out at once. The only light now came from the silvery ghosts, who were drifting about talking seriously to the prefects, and the enchanted ceiling, which, like the sky outside, was scattered with stars, giving most students the feeling that they were camping instead of clustered together in the Great Hall.

A few hours later Tera whimpered in her sleep, she was having one of her usual nightmares, the one where the darkness (which now commonly took the form of dementors) would take everyone she cares about, dragging them off, their screams of anguish and despair echoing in her head on repeat. Tears were falling from her eyes as she tossed and turned, biting her lip until it bled to keep from screaming.

Fred awoke with a start, having heard Tera's whimper which was followed closely by a small sob. He scooted closer and pulled Tera to him, completely used to Tera's occasional nightmares, since she would normally seek him out on nights such as this. Wiping the tears from her eyes he frowned when he noticed her lip bleeding, _must be really bad tonight if that happened_, he thought to himself. "Shh… I've got you love…. Everything is alright. It's just a nightmare." He whispered to her, petting her hair soothingly.

Tera clung to him, burying her face in the crook his neck, his scent slowly calming her until her erratic breathing evened out again. "Please don't… don't leave me… Please… " she mumbled in her sleep, snuggling closer and sniffling, her left hand resting just above his heart.

"I'm not going anywhere Tera, I promise…" he mumbled into her hair before kissing her forehead and drifting back off to sleep.

The next morning Fred awoke to a sight that warmed his heart and made him chuckle lightly. Tera, sometime in the night, had left her own sleeping bag, and weaseled her way into his, her left hand had a death grip on his nightshirt, and her head was resting over his heart, her hair an adorable mess. Looking to his left, Fred noticed Cedric glaring heatedly at him, which of course caused him to glare back. He stopped glaring though when he noticed Tera starting to wake up, her head nuzzling against his chest before she let out a little yawn, her eyes slowly opening, blinking up at him sleepily.

"Oh… hullo Freddie." she said with a sleepy little smile, seemingly unaffected by, and completely unaware of the glare coming from her boyfriend of one day, who was not even 10 feet away.

"Good morning love, care to tell me how it is you ended up in my sleeping bag?" he decided to ask, wondering how long it would be before Cedric's head exploded from annoyance.

Tera blushed lightly, the sleepiness quickly leaving her eyes as she noticed her predicament. Looking down, she took a moment before mumbling something under her breath.

"Say again? Didn't quite catch that." Fred said with a playful smile, moving his head so he was face to face with her.

"I said… I-I had a nightmare… and I was scared… and… and you always make me feel safe…" Tera said, her face burning more brightly with each word.

Fred's playful smile turned soft and warm, pulling Tera into a hug as he murmured into her hair. "I'm glad you trust me so much Tera, it means a lot."

"Of course I trust you Freddie… I trust you and Georgie both. I know you wouldn't let anything hurt me…" she mumbled into his chest, her voice sweet and full of innocence.

Looking up Fred sighed lightly, sitting up and unzipping the sleeping bag, pulling Tera into a standing position with him. "We had best stop this little love fest before your boyfriend's head explodes." He said, gesturing over to Cedric who was trying to play it cool and failing miserably.

Tera looked over at Cedric, her eyes widening and her blush increasing tenfold. She stepped away from Fred and looked between the two, unsure of what to do. Looking down and mumbling a quick farewell she made her escape, nearly running to her dormitory.

She just couldn't deal with this sort of thing so early in the morning, nor did she honestly know how to deal with it anyways. With the hope that it would blow over, and that Cedric wouldn't be too mad, Tera dressed for the day, absentmindedly petting her cat who was rubbing against her hand lovingly.

The next few days Tera had to listen to the whole school talk excitedly about none other than Sirius Black, although Hannah Abbot's idea about him being able to turn into a flowering shrub was a good laugh. She kept a close watch on Harry, though unlike Percy, she was more discreet about it. She had made amends with Cedric and he wasn't mad anymore, his arm around her shoulders while he'd be talking to his teammates about the up and coming match with none other than the Gryffindor team.

Looking over at her boys Tera sighed quietly, wishing she was over there, where at least she would laugh and be enjoying herself, rather than sitting quietly, listening to constant Quidditch talk. Fred and George understood that while she enjoyed watching them play, she didn't like to listen to plays, formations or team gossip.

"So what do you think Tera?"

Tera was startled out of her thoughts, looking up at Cedric in confusion. "…Huh?"

"I asked if you think the weather will be any better by the time of our game against Gryffindor." Cedric said as if he was talking to a small child.

Tera huffed in annoyance, looking up at the enchanted ceiling. "By the way the clouds look, how the air felt this morning and the time of year that it is, I say that the weather will probably be at its worst on game day." She said, looking up at him, her nose twitching in annoyance when he just smiled at her like she was a toddler showing him a doodle.

Cedric gave her a squeeze and went back to talking to his friends, talking over plays, and exercises to get them game ready.

"Look, I'm not feeling so great, I'm going to go lay down." Tera said, quickly getting up and walking away before he could offer to walk her back to the common room. She shot a glance at the twins then left the Great Hall, instead of heading towards her own common room; she headed upstairs, finally stopping when she reached her favorite window that looks out over the castle grounds.

When the twins found her, she was sitting on the large window ledge and drawing random patterns on the glass, her knees drawn up to her chest and her chin resting on top of them.

"Hey Ter, what's wrong?" George asked, sitting down at her feet, admiring the intricate swirls and knots drawn on the window.

Tera sighed, looking over at her boys, oh how she missed spending most of her time with them, laughing and enjoying herself. "I feel like… like a little kid whenever I'm around Cedric and his friends. I'm getting tired of listening to them talk about Quidditch all of the time and just sitting there bored out of my mind. I miss spending time with you guys, just relaxing, not talking, but still smiling like someone handed me my favorite candy." She said, a sigh escaping her as she drew another wispy swirl.

"Well if you're so unhappy, why stay in the relationship?" Fred asked, leaning against the wall right behind her.

Tera tilted her head, looking back at him with her bright green eyes. "This is the first relationship I've ever been in; I want to give it a chance at least. Maybe it'll get better, maybe it won't... I don't know."

George shook his head, not completely comprehending, but also not wanting to argue with her. "Well then, what are you going to do?"

"I'll give it until New Year's Eve… if I don't feel like it'll work by then… I'll break up with him." She said, a bit of apprehension in her voice. She just hopes that if it comes to that, he won't be mad at her or feel hurt.

"Why don't you come on up and hang out with us for a while? Hmm? We'll play cards, smuggle in some cookies and just relax." offered Fred, knowing she would feel better afterwards.

Tera thought about it for less than a second before smiling sweetly and standing up, smoothing out the wrinkles in her clothes. "I'd like that…"

The twins both smiled their identical smiles, pulling Tera along with them with a laugh. After figuring out Sir Cadogan's riddle, they entered and headed straight to their dormitory, pulling out a deck of cards and smuggled in goodies.

Tera jumped up onto Fred's bed, her feet hanging off the edge as she swung them back and forth like an excited child, her eyes shining with happiness and mischief. "Now then, prepare to lose!" she said with a laugh.

Taking the time to teach them seven up, she kicked their butts 5 times before they finally got the hang of it and one of them beat her. Looking down at her watch she yawned, it was past ten and the boys had a game to play the next day.

Getting up she hugged them, happy to just be held by them for a bit. "I better get going, you two need to get to bed, sleepy Beaters get their heads beaten in by Bludgers. Goodnight Freddie, Georgie..." Tera pecked them both on the cheek and snuck out, quickly making her way back to the Hufflepuff common room, sneaking past a dozing Cedric who looked like he had been waiting for her.

Once she entered her dormitory she pulled on her favorite baggy t-shirt, her pajama bottoms, and tied her hair back in a loose braid. She picked up Pixie, who was rubbing against her leg affectionately, and got into bed, cuddling her kitten to her chest and quickly falling asleep.

The next morning Tera headed to breakfast very early, even though she normally wasn't a morning person, she wanted to wish the boys good luck before Cedric and his teammates showed up. She quickly made her way over to the Gryffindor table, smiling at Harry and hugging her boys. Pecking each of them on the cheek, she wished them luck and told them to be careful before heading over to the Hufflepuff table and pulling out her book, just moments before Cedric and the rest of the Hufflepuff team showed up for breakfast.

After breakfast Cedric pecked Tera on the cheek with a smile. "Wish us luck."

"Good luck, don't let a bit of rain stop you from doing your best." She said with a smile, watching him and the rest of his team hurry out to get changed into their uniforms.

But it was considerably more than a bit of rain. Such was the popularity of Quidditch that the whole school turned out to watch the match as usual, they ran down the lawns toward the Quidditch field, heads bowed against the ferocious wind, umbrellas being whipped out of their hands as they went. Tera, who was sharing an umbrella with Hermione and Ron, quickly ran to the stands, trying her best not to slip in the mud.

"This weather is horrible!" she grumbled, her hair sticking to her face because of the moisture.

The wind was so strong that the Gryffindor team staggered sideways as they walked out onto the field, their gear quickly molding to their forms from the onslaught of rain.

The Hufflepuffs were approaching from the opposite side of the field, wearing canary-yellow robes. The Captains walked up to each other and shook hands; showing good sportsmanship. Madam Hooch put her whistle to her lips and gave it a blast that sounded shrill and distant — they were off.

Harry rose fast, but his Nimbus was swerving slightly with the wind. He held it as steady as he could and turned, squinting into the rain. He seemed to be having a hard time of it, looking around and nearly being knocked off his broom twice by Bludgers that flew in his direction.

Tera watch all of her boys, Harry, the twins and her boyfriend, though it was difficult to keep an eye on them all. She noticed how Harry didn't look like he had a clue what was going on around him. "Harry seems to be having problems 'Mione… his glasses are getting splashed with water to the point he can't see."

Hermione gasped, an excited gleam coming to her eyes. "That just gave me a brilliant idea!"

"What sort of idea 'Mione?" Tera asked, her eyes closing as a harsh breeze blew against them.

"Impervius, it will make it so Harry's glasses repel water!" Hermione said excitedly.

"But how are you going to get the spell on his glasses? You'd have to wait until they call a time out." Tera pointed out.

Hermione was about to answer when they heard a shrill whistle that followed a flash of lightning, which caused both girls to jump. Looking towards the field, Hermione smiled. "Looks like I won't have to wait. Be back in a minute!" she said before running down to the soaking wet Gryffindor team.

Tera nodded, smiling lightly at Cedric who waved at her and rolling her eyes at the girls around her who giggled and cooed about how handsome he was.

Hermione made it back up to the stands, resembling a drowned cat. "Why does it have to rain so much? Ugh."

At this Tera just giggled, knowing that Hermione was just complaining for the sake of complaining. Turning her attention back to the game Tera smiled at her boys, who though they were soaked, were also having a bit of fun with the Bludgers, hitting one back and forth before aiming it at someone on the Hufflepuff team.

Tera looked over at Harry, who was doing much better now that he could see and wondered who would find the snitch first. She jumped when there was another clap of thunder, followed immediately by forked lightning. This was getting more and more dangerous. Someone needed to get the Snitch quickly — Tera suddenly froze, her nose twitching and her eyes narrowing. What in the world smelled like wet dog?

Looking around and wondering where the smell was coming from, Tera's eyes widened, it couldn't be. But there it was, an enormous shaggy black dog, sitting motionless in the topmost, empty row of seats, just as she noticed it, it turned and slunk away. Straining to see where it was going, Tera watched it lope off into the Forbidden Forest, glancing back at her for only a moment before completely disappearing.

She turned back to the game when she heard Hermione gasp, pointing wildly at Harry who's hand seemed to have slipped on his Nimbus 2000, causing him to drop a few feet. She watched as he righted himself and then looked towards Wood, who was yelling. "Harry! Harry, behind you!"

Cedric was streaking up the field, following closely behind a tiny speck of gold that was shimmering in the rain-filled air. Quickly Harry bolted after him, lying as flat as possible against his broom handle in hope of catching up.

But something very strange was happening; an unnatural silence had crept its way across the stadium. The wind, though it was beating against everyone to prove it was there, was eerily quiet. Tera felt as though she might have gone deaf, she even clicked her tongue just to check – what in the world is happening?

And then an unbearably familiar wave of cold swept over her, her eyes widened in fear. No… not those…

Tera watched in horror as the field filled with at least a hundred Dementors, their hidden faces turned up towards Harry, though it felt like the ones closest to her were staring at her, which caused her to shudder, clinging to Hermione's arm and looking away from those horrible things.

Hermione gasped, jumping to her feet quickly which brought a confused Tera with her, looking up Tera only had enough time to let out a scream of concern. Harry was falling from his broom! "Harry! Oh god, HARRY!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even though Hufflepuff had won the match, Tera wasn't off celebrating with the rest of her house, much to Cedric's annoyance. No, she was huddle up with the Gryffindor team, Hermione and Ron, around Harry's bed in the Hospital Wing.

"Lucky the ground was so soft."

"I thought he was dead for sure."

"But he didn't even break his glasses."

Tera sighed, her head resting against Fred's shoulder as she sniffled lightly, feeling like she might be coming down with a cold. "If he ever scares me like that again… I swear I'll kill him myself.." she mumbled, shuddering as she relived the fear of seeing all those dementors and watching him fall, for a moment.

Fred wrapped his arm around her waist, giving her a light squeeze, which cause her to smile up at him, thankful for the warmth he was giving off, even if he was soaked to the bone.

"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life." mumbled another member of the team.

Tera nodded in agreement, not wanting to ever deal with anything like that again.

Harry's eyes snapped open, looking around in fear and confusion, not understanding where he was.

"Harry!" said Fred, who was extremely white underneath all the mud that was splattered on him and dripping onto Tera, who seemed to not notice or care. "How're you feeling?"

Harry seemed to go blank for a moment, like he was reliving it all. "What happened?" he asked, sitting up so suddenly they all gasped.

"You fell off," said Fred. "Must've been — what — fifty feet?"

"I'd think a bit higher than that..." said Tera, figuring it was closer to sixty.

"We thought you'd died," said Alicia, who was shaking.

Hermione made a small, squeak like noise, her eyes were extremely bloodshot and her hair had frizzed out like you wouldn't believe. Tera held open her arm and pulled the frazzled girl into a friendly hug, giving her a small bit of comfort.

"But the match," said Harry. "What happened? Are we doing a replay?"

No one said anything, all of them just silently watching Harry as the truth of it all sank in.

"We didn't — lose?"

"Diggory got the Snitch," said George. "Just after you fell. He didn't realize what had happened. When he looked back and saw you on the ground, he tried to call it off. Wanted a rematch. But they won fair and square… even Wood admits it."

"Where is Wood?" said Harry, suddenly realizing he wasn't there.

"Still in the showers," said Fred. "We think he's trying to drown himself."

Harry put his face to his knees, his hands gripping his hair. Fred grabbed his shoulder and shook it roughly. "C'mon, Harry, you've never missed the Snitch before."

"There had to be one time you didn't get it," said George.

At this Tera nodded her agreement. "No one is perfect Harry." She piped.

"It's not over yet," said Fred. "We lost by a hundred points."

"Right? So if Hufflepuff loses to Ravenclaw and we beat Ravenclaw and Slytherin…"

"Hufflepuff'll have to lose by at least two hundred points," said George.

"But if they beat Ravenclaw…"

"No way, Ravenclaw is too good. But if Slytherin loses against Hufflepuff…"

"It all depends on the points — a margin of a hundred either way —"

Harry lay there, not saying a word. Looking like someone had offered him a new toy and then broke it in front of his eyes.

"Guys… I think Quidditch talk isn't the best thing at the moment…" said Tera, pointing out Harry's shell shock to them.

After ten minutes or so, Madam Pomfrey came over to tell the team to leave Harry in peace.

"We'll come and see you later," Fred told him. "Don't beat yourself up Harry; you're still the best Seeker we've ever had."

Tera patted Harry on the arm, a weak smile on her face. "Those things freak me out too, don't worry about it Harry, it was out of your control and no one blames you." She said, pecking him on the cheek before turning to follow her boys.

The team trooped out, trailing mud behind them, Tera right between her boys, trying to avoid stepping in the large mud puddles the others were leaving. Madam Pomfrey shut the door behind them, looking disapproving.

"Harry sure is beating himself up about this whole thing... I hate seeing him so down and out." mumbled Tera, who was walking calmly with her boys, who were dripping mud all over the place.

"No one blames him for the loss, it's those bloody dementors, nasty things they are." said Fred, a growl escaping him.

Tera shuddered at the mention of those horrible things.

The boys dropped Tera off at the Hufflepuff entrance and then headed off to change, chuckling about how angry Filch was going to be about them muddying up his floors.

Tera just chuckled, knowing how much they loved to annoy Filch. Tera headed into the Hufflepuff common room and was swept up into the celebration; everyone was laughing, dancing and just having a grand time. Someone spun her around, making her giggle as she landed into Cedric's arms. "Hello Ced." She said, her cheeks flushed because the excitement in the room had rubbed off on her.

Cedric smiled down at her, his eyes twinkling merrily. "Hullo Tera." He replied back right before leaning in and kissing her, causing whoops and cheers to erupt around them.

When he pulled back Tera was looking up at him in surprise, a brilliantly red blush flaming across her entire face.

Cedric took this as shyness and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, going to sit on the couch and enjoy a butter beer smuggled in by one of the more ballsy students.

Tera sat there in shock, she didn't know exactly how she felt about the kiss; it was pleasant enough, not disgusting or anything. But she always thought that when you actually kiss someone and not by accident, it should leave you breathless, elated and that there would be the metaphorical fireworks that all the older girls talk about. Her kiss with Cedric… was just that, a kiss, nothing magical or very special about it; it was just a kiss from a cute older boy, who happens to be her boyfriend.

After another hour or two, Tera told Cedric she was tired and wanted to head to bed. He kissed her again and told her goodnight with a sweet smile. Tera got up and made her way to her dormitory, changing into her favorite and most comfy pajamas, and climbing into bed, holding her kitten closely to her.

"I just don't get it Pixie… I thought kissing someone was supposed to cause butterflies… not confusion." she mumbled into her kitten's fur, nuzzling her with her nose. A few minutes later Tera dozed off, still entirely confused about Cedric and his kisses.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello all! This chappy came out a bit faster then I thought it would. I hope you all enjoy it! Let me know what you think in a review. Show me the love darlings!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I do own this story and all my OCs. There are some small excerpts from the book here.**

**Chapter Five:**

**Entering the Holiday Season**

Tera had visited Harry a few times over the weekend, bringing him cookies and also bringing Pixie with her to cheer him up with her silly kitten antics. She also was there when the Gryffindor team showed up and scowled at Wood and his depressed demeanor, knowing it wasn't helping Harry and his self-torment any.

Most of her weekend though was spent mulling over her and Cedric's kiss at the Hufflepuff party. It hadn't set off the proverbial fireworks, but there had been a flutter in her stomach, which she wasn't sure if it was a good sign or just her shocked nerves at the time. Trying not to dwell on it too much she poured her time into working on the dreaded two scroll assignment Snape had assigned on werewolves.

On Sunday night she had finished the assignment, rolling up her 3 scrolls of information including ways to tell werewolves from true wolves, how they interact with wolves and humans, how it can affect their humanity and how society views them. It also has the advances in the research being done to find a possible cure or suppressant other than the potion that makes their transformed selves less blood thirsty and volatile. Tera smiled; rather proud of her work which she felt was sure to get her an A and the fact that it was a paper worthy of Hermione herself. _She must be rubbing off on me_, Tera thought to herself before rubbing her eyes tiredly and heading to her dormitory for bed, a yawn escaping her.

The next day she was trudging through the halls towards Defense Against the Dark Arts while fuming, she'd had a run in with Malfoy and his goons earlier and it had grated on her nerves. Malfoy had been picking on that little girl again, having busted her glasses and laughed while she whimpered, tears streaming down her face. Tera was pissed and had snuck up on them, hexing Crabbe and Goyle before backing Malfoy into a corner, her eyes flashing with venom. "Pick on little girls now Malfoy? And here I thought you couldn't get any lower. Guess I was wrong." She growled before looking back at the young girl, her wand still trained on Malfoy. "Are you alright Calliope?" she asked, her voice full of concern.

Calliope shook her head, a few more tears falling. "T-they broke my g-glasses…" she mumbled, holding up the broken remains and sniffling lightly.

Tera turned her head back to Malfoy, who was trying to sneak away, jabbing him with her wand. "Here's the deal Malfoy, if I EVER hear about you picking on little Calliope here again… I will personally hunt you down and make you pay." said Tera, a wicked smile forming on her face that made Malfoy shudder.

"Are you threatening me Howell?" he asked, his eyes narrowed as he tried to glare her down.

"Of course I am Malfoy, are you dense or something?" she said in a mocking voice. "Now, take your goons and get the hell out of my sight before I make you regret it." she said, moving her wand and going to stand in front of Calliope, watching the three Slytherins slink off before turning to the girl. "Callie… what did I tell you about walking the halls alone?" Tera said, helping the young girl up.

"I'm sorry… it's just that… I needed to return a book to the library and my friend hates going there… so I told her to just meet me at our next class." Callie said with a sniffle.

Tera sighed, looking down at the girl's glasses she remembered a spell she had seen Hermione do a few times to Harry's glasses. "Here, hold up your glasses for me, I'm going to try to fix them."

"How are you going to do that?" asked Callie, her eyes full of wonder as she held them up.

"Just watch." Tera said, bringing out her wand and taking a moment to remember the spell. "Okay… _Oculus Reparo_!"

Callie watched in amazement as her glasses fixed themselves before her very eyes, taking back their perfect form again. "That was amazing! Thank you so much Tera." The younger girl said, hugging Tera around the waist tightly and smiling sweetly up at her.

Tera smiled down at her, taking her glasses and setting them straight, brushing a bit of hair out of her eyes. "Your quite welcome Callie, just try to stay out of trouble and away from those gits, alright. I need to get to class, but I'll walk you to yours to be safe."

This now brings us back to Tera walking to her Defense Against the Dark Arts class. "God I hope Snape isn't teaching again today. I'd hate to see Hermione almost cry like last time. I wanted to smack that big nose of his right off his face..."

Walking in though Tera was relieved to see that Professor Lupin was back, though he looked a bit more raggedy if that was even possible. Taking her usual seat Tera pulled out her book to read until class officially started, rolling her eyes when everyone started whining all at once about Snape's assignment.

"It's not fair, he was only filling in, why should he give us homework?"

"We don't know anything about werewolves —"

"— two rolls of parchment!"

"Did you tell Professor Snape we haven't covered them yet?" Lupin asked, a frown working its way onto his tired face.

The babble broke out again.

"Yes, but he said we were really behind —"

"— he wouldn't listen —"

_"—_ _two rolls of parchment!"_

Professor Lupin smiled and shook his head at the look of indignation on every face, a small chuckle escaping him. "Don't worry. I'll speak to Professor Snape. You don't have to do the essay."

"Oh no," said Hermione, looking very disappointed. "I've already finished it!"

Tera's jaw dropped, she had been up until 3am for nothing? "Damn it all…" she mumbled, putting her book away and banging her head against the desk.

They had a very enjoyable lesson. Professor Lupin had brought along a glass box containing a Hinkypunk, a little one-legged creature who looked as though it were made of wisps of smoke, rather frail and harmless looking.

"Lures travelers into bogs," said Professor Lupin as they took notes. "You notice the lantern dangling from his hand? Hops ahead — people follow the light — then —"

The Hinkypunk made a horrible squelching noise against the glass.

When the bell rang, everyone gathered up their things and headed for the door, Tera still grumbling about having to toss out a perfectly good essay.

After that day, time just seemed to fly, Hufflepuff lost to Ravenclaw in their next Quidditch match, which had Cedric and the rest of the team practicing harder than ever in hopes of beating Slytherin. The Gryffindor team was also practicing like mad, Wood having lost his glassy eyed hopeless look in place of that frenzied gleam he had before, working his team as hard as ever in the chilly haze of rain that persisted into December. There was no hint of a Dementor within the grounds; Dumbledore's wrath seemed to be keeping them at bay.

Two weeks before the end of the term, the sky lightened up to a dazzling, pristine white and the once muddy grounds, one morning were covered with a crystal like layer of glittering frost. Inside the castle, there was a buzz of Christmas in the air, the students discussing their holiday plans. Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, had already decorated his classroom with shimmering lights that turned out to be real, fluttering fairies.

To everyone's delight except poor Harry, there was to be another Hogsmeade trip on the very last weekend of the term.

Tera spent most of her time with Hermione in the library, listening to her animatedly talk about what sorts of things she would get for her mum and dad for Christmas. This would usually get Tera to laugh because she couldn't really understand the wonder her parents had over magical things.

On the Saturday morning of the Hogsmeade trip, Tera made her way along the path, her nose and eyes the only thing showing outside her scarf and winter hat. She had told Cedric that she was going to meet up with Hermione at Honeydukes then go get a few books and other things. So Cedric had stayed behind with some of his friends to talk strategy for their next match, after their embarrassing loss against Ravenclaw.

Tera skipped along, a smile hiding behind her scarf. She was going to do some of her holiday shopping today, hoping to get something good for each of the people on her list. Making her way along, Tera smiled at the people around her, a bit of pep in her step as she walked into Honeydukes, wondering what to get her brother to keep him from whining about not being able to come with.

Walking up and down the rows Tera grabbed Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, some tiny black Pepper Imps, Ice Mice and a handful of other things. "That should be enough to keep him off my case…" she mumbled, picking up a few other goodies to give to Harry and maybe Calliope.

When the store bell chimed Tera looked up with a smile, walking over to Hermione and hugging her. "So, want to head over to the book shop after browsing through here a bit?" she asked.

Hermione smiled, Tera having said the magic work, aka books. "Yeah, I'd love to… but I'm hanging out with Ron so I can't leave really…"

"Oh, don't worry about it... Actually if you went with me in might ruin my Christmas present surprise for you, so it all works out." replied Tera playfully. "I'm just going to get a few more things. I guess I'll see you later then Mione."

"Yeah, see you later Ter." said Hermione, getting distracted by Ron something he was saying.

Tera grabbed a few more things, paid for her purchase and then headed to the book store, intent of finding something Hermione would love. Twenty minutes later Tera exited the book shop, her purchases all bundled up and hidden inside of her bag. She watched as Ron and Hermione walked into The Three Broomsticks, blinking when she noticed an unaccounted for pair of foot prints walking along next to them. Shaking her head she turned and ran right into someone.

Looking up to apologize, a smile broke across her face; she'd recognize those eyes and smiles anywhere. "Hullo Freddie, hi Georgie." She said, hugging her boys around the waist happily. "Did you two just get here?"

"We stopped to give Harry a bit of holiday cheer." Fred said, hugging her back with a laugh.

"Yeah, we bequeathed our greatest find to him." George said with a chuckle.

"We figured his need is greater than our own." Fred added.

"We've learned all we can from it." George finished while walking along, a bit of pep in his step.

Tera smiled, shaking her head with a laugh. "So you two trouble makers finally parted with the Marauder's Map, huh?" Tera asked, remembering when the twins had shown her the map. She had hated the time they had snuck out through the one eyed witch's hump. Not something to slide down, in a skirt.

"He was just looking so gloomy Ter, you should have seen it." said George, throwing his hands up for emphasis.

"It broke our poor little hearts to see him so down." said Fred dramatically, wiping away an invisible tear with a sniffle.

"So we picked his spirits up with a way to sneak out." said George tossing his arm across his brother's shoulders as twin smiles broke across their faces.

Tera just shook her head, thinking back to the mysterious foot prints, now knowing it was most likely Harry under that cloak of his. "Well, since the two of you are here, you can help me with my holiday shopping." Tera said, pulling out a list with a smile, chuckling when the twins slumped in defeat.

Two hours later, the twins had ran off to do whatever and Tera had finished wrapping all of her gifts, pulling out her handy check list to make sure she hadn't missed anything.

**_Christmas List_**

_Mother: Silver Crescent Moon Earrings_

_Grandmother: Faceted Crystal Sun-catchers_

_Callum: Book on the Mythology of Dragons and a 1lb bag of candies_

_Harry: Tin of double Chocolate Chip Cookies and a Drawing of Harry on his Nimbus2000_

_Hermione: The Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce_

_Ron: Chudley Cannons robes_

_Fred & George: A muggle prank book and a picture of when they first met and Kings Cross_

_Cedric: Quidditch Play Book_

Smiling she gathered up the lot, other than the ones for her family, and decided to go gift giving. First stop, Gryffindor Tower! Making her way up Tera felt really lucky, she got there just as Neville was giving the password, following him in she made her way up to Hermione's room, setting her present at the end of her bed, then going to hunt down Harry and Ron to give them theirs.

When she got to their dorm, Harry was already lying in bed, and seemed to be sleeping. She quietly set the presents down on the correct beds, and then snuck out. Last presents to pass out here were for Fred and George, and as tradition, she was going to give them their presents in person and have them open them before she left to go home.

After looking in their dorm and finding them to not be there Tera was befuzzled. "Now where, oh where have my Gryffindors gone, oh where, oh where can they be?" she wondered aloud, walking out of the port hole and going on the hunt.

After about twenty minutes of looking she happened upon George, completely confused as to why he wasn't with Fred she just stood there for a moment, blinking when he waved a hand in front of her face.

"Earth to Tera." He said, chuckling when she just blinked at him.

"…Where's Fred..?" she asked, confusion etched across her face as she looked around, expecting him to pop out from behind something and scare her.

"I was actually wondering the same thing. He was supposed to meet me here five minutes ago so we could set up some pranked mistletoe. I had to use the loo and I have no idea where he went. What are you doing here Ter?" George asked, tilting his head and looking down at her.

"I was looking for you two so I could give you your Christmas presents…" Tera said, holding out the wrapped book and framed picture. "Here, you take these and we can go different direction to find Fred, we'll meet up at the port hole in half an hour." Tera said, handing him the gifts and heading off in the opposite direction.

Walking along Tera opened random doors, sticking her head in cautiously because you never know if the room was Weasley booby trapped or not. As she walked past a suit of armor, a pair of arms pulled Tera into an alcove, causing her to gasp. "Lemme go right now or I'll scream!" she growled, putting up a struggle.

"Whoa there love, calm down. It's just me." said an all too familiar voice, the arms around her waist slackening slightly.

"Freddie? …Don't do that! You scared the hell outta me." She grumbled, turning to look up at her friend with a frown while poking his chest.

Fred just chuckled, shaking his head and smiling down at her. "You spook too easy love."

"Well I'm not exactly used to being pulled into random alcoves without warning." She grumbled, crossing her arms.

Fred shook his head, hugging her around the shoulders. "Look I'm sorry if I scared you Tera.."

Tera rolled her eyes, looking around them. "So what were you doing here anyways?" she asked.

"I was setting up booby trapped mistletoe like last year only with slight changes." He said, pointing at a sprig of mistletoe about fifteen feet down the hall. "That one gives the blushing couple a small zap when they lip lock."

"Whatever, come on, Georgie is going to be waiting for us at the porthole." Tera said, turning to leave but stopping as she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. "What the…?" turning back she saw mistletoe grow over their heads. Tera stared at it with wide eyes, a blush flaming across her face.

"What are you looking at lo – oh… That's not one of mine…" said Fred as he glanced up, his cheeks, ears and neck taking on a reddish hue. "We… we don't have to Tera…" he mumbled, his eyes still glued to the mistletoe.

Tera twitched then blinked, trying to move away from the spot. "Actually… I don't think we have a choice…" she mumbled.

"What do you mean? Of course we have a choice." Fred said with a frown. "It may be tradition but we don't have to."

"No I mean, we can't move out from under the mistletoe, I think we're st-stuck unless we k-kiss…" she said shyly, looking down at her toes.

Fred tried to move and realized she was right; they were stuck. "Okay… I guess we have to kiss…" he muttered, his ears burning warmly. He grabbed Tera's chin gently, making her look up at him. "Don't worry, I'll make it quick." He mumbled, leaning in and pecking her on the lips lightly then letting go, frowning when he still couldn't move. "But, that was a kiss."

Tera blinked, her blush blazing more brightly. "I don't think we c-can move un-unless it la-lasts l-longer…." She mumbled, avoiding looking him in the eyes.

"Okay…" Fred placed one hand at Tera's waist, pulling her closer while the other rested gently on her cheek, making her look up at him, her green eyes showing shy uncertainty.

Tera felt as if she was drowning, she was rooted to the spot and the only thing holding her up was Fred's arms, which were holding her close. Every inch closer he got seemed to take forever until she was swept up in the sweetest, most tender kiss she ever experienced. Slowly her arms came up to wrap around his neck, her left hand resting against his chest. Everything else fell away; it was like they were the only two people in the world and in that instant something in Tera seemed to snap into place, leaving her enlightened to something she had been keeping, even from herself.

Fred slowly pulled away, looking down at Tera with a glazed and somewhat shocked look in his eyes. "Blimey…"

Tera's fingers slowly let go of his shirt, coming up to touch her lips, as if she wasn't quite sure if that had really just happened. Suddenly though her eyes widened and she gasped, slowly backing away. She had just kissed Fred… one of her best mates! Oh god, what about Cedric? "Oh god…" she muttered under her breath, her face blazing with both embarrassment and shame. "I… oh god…"

Fred reached a hand out to her in concern. "Tera –"

She tried to pull herself together, taking a step back and then putting on a fake smile. "It looks like we aren't stuck anymore. I have lots of packing to do, have a nice holiday Freddie." And before Fred could even respond Tera was off like a shot, shame and embarrassment giving her more speed than usual in her retreat.

"Tera!" yelled Fred, confusion and worry echoing from his voice.

After giving the password to the badger, Tera quickly made her way through the common room, dodging Cedric who was trying to get her attention, and heading straight into her room, closing the curtains around her bed and sitting there, tears swimming in her eyes. "I just kissed my best friend… behind my boyfriend's back… Oh god…" she groaned, her head in her hands.

Ten minutes later, after making sure her eyes weren't red and her happy mask was in place Tera slowly made her way back out into the common room, her present for Cedric in her hands.

When Cedric saw her he smiled, waving her over to come and sit with him in the corner. Tera steeled herself, going and sitting down next to him.

"Tera, you came through so quickly earlier, I didn't have the chance to give you your present." He said, holding it out and leaning in to kiss her.

Tera blinked and quickly put her hand up, stopping Cedric before his lips could make contact. "Cedric… I can't do this. I'm sorry but… this just isn't working out." She said, holding her breath as she waited for his reaction, refusing to show how worried she was.

Cedric stared for a minute before sighing. "I guess I should have seen this coming.." he said ruefully. "After all, I'm no Fred Weasley"

Tera blushed brightly, looking down at the present in her hands so she wouldn't have to look at him. "Ced I –"

Cedric put a hand up to stop her. "You don't have to explain Tera, I kinda always knew. I guess that's why I was always a bit jealous when you were with him. I wanted someone to look at me that way." Cedric said his mouth quirking slightly. "He's a lucky guy."

"Ced… he doesn't look at me like that." She said, her blush still burning brightly. Was it normal to talk to your ex of just a few minutes about your best friend whom you have feelings for? "I'm just a friend, almost like a little sister."

"Trust me Tera, George might see you that way, but you'll never just be like a sister to Fred." Cedric said while shaking his head, wondering how she didn't see what he could so clearly.

Tera just sighed, her blush making her feel ever so slightly light headed. Looking back down she remembered the present Cedric handed her. "Oh here… I guess you'll be wanting this back." She said, holding it out to him.

"No, I got it specifically for you. Keep it, as a… token of our friendship." Cedric said, his smile showing his willingness to be simply being friends.

Tera smiled back at him, holding out her gift to him. "Well then, here's you present then." She said, still feeling a bit awkward around him, but not as badly as she thought she would.

Cedric opened his present, a wide grin spreading across his face when he saw the Quidditch play book. "Thanks Tera, I love it!" he said happily. "Okay, now open yours."

"Alright..." she said, opening the silver wrapping to reveal delicate glass daffodil that as soon as her hand made contact with it the bloom started to change color, going to a bright yellowish green. "Oh wow… why'd it do that?" she asked her eyes full of wonder.

"It changes color with your mood, neat isn't it? Yellowish green means you're a bit anxious but are starting to calm down. Green is serenity, blue excitement, red anger, and when you're not touching it, it goes back to a pale whitish yellow." He explained.

"Oh wow, that is neat." She said in awe, glancing down at her watch she got up, smoothing out her skirt. "I have to go pack, I'm heading home for the holidays tomorrow." She said a small smile on her face. "So you're not mad with me?" she asked, just to make sure.

Cedric got up to, pecking her on the cheek. "No, I'm not mad." He said, turning to head to his dorm. "Happy holiday's Tera."

"Happy holiday's Cedric." Heading back to her room Tera flopped onto her bed with a sigh, staring at the picture of her and her boys on her nightstand for five minutes before getting up to finish her packing. Changing into her pajamas she slipped into her bed, Pixie cuddling up against her with a purr. "I can't believe it… I'm in love with Fred Weasley…"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry this took so long. The inspiration bunny turned tail and ran when I tried to cuddle with it and get some ideas. We are getting close to the end of year three; I'm thinking only one more chapter to go before I start working on year four. I'd love to know what you guys think and how I'm doing. So leave me a review and tell me your favorite parts thus far. Much love to all my readers! Thank you guys!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; if I did there would have been a lot less deaths, and more happy endings. I do however own this story and my Characters Tera, her family and her pets. There are big excerpts from the book in this chapter, but I tried to make them from Tera's point of view. No hating, just read and enjoy the Tera moments in there random abundance. I hope you all enjoy, and leave me a review. Much love to you, now enjoy the story.**

**Chapter Six:**

**Life Keeps Moving**

Tera spent the whole holiday trying to figure out what to do when she'd come face to face with Fred when they went back to school. She finally decided to push everything into a small box in her mind and pretend that nothing had changed so as to save them both from any embarrassment. Though she was rather nervous about he would act, or even how George would, knowing that they didn't keep secrets from one another.

Bracing herself Tera made her way into the Great Hall on her first day back, her stomach in knots. You can do this, just act like it's any other day, as if nothing whatsoever has changed… she told herself, walking over to the Gryffindor table and sitting in her usual spot, keeping her eyes ahead of her as she grabbed a scone and started nibbling on it.

"Hullo Tera, how was your holidays?" Harry asked with a small smile, completely oblivious to her slight discomfort.

Tera looked up, a smile making its way across her face at Harry's welcome distraction. "Pretty good, got a bunch of new books and laughed when Callum jumped around like a happy puppy when he got a broom for Christmas." Tera said with a laugh.

"Oh cool, I got a broom too. It's a Firebolt." Harry said with pride, admiration for his broom shining in his eyes.

"Wow... those are really expensive. Who got it for you?"

"Dunno, didn't come with a letter. It's been checked over though to make sure it wasn't tampered with." Harry said with a shrug.

"You must have a really good friend out there Harry." Tera said in a somewhat uncertain tone, nearly jumping out of her seat when Fred's leg brushed against hers.

"You okay Ter? You're pretty jumpy…" said George with a bit of concern.

"Yeah… just a bit tired is all… didn't get much sleep last night." She said with a small smile. "Pixie was running me over most of the night and bounced on my face."

George chuckled, knowing how rambunctious Tera's kitten was.

"Sounds cute, yet annoying." commented Fred.

"That about sums it up." She said with a shy look over at him. "I need to get moving, I have my first class soon and I forgot my book in the Hufflepuff common room. See you guys later."

After a while Tera got comfortable again around her boys, glad to see that things didn't need to be awkward, but still hating acting like her feelings weren't there. She really needed someone to talk to, luckily she had one female friend she knew would understand.

"Mione… do you ever get tired sometimes of hiding how you feel cause you don't want to possibly make things awkward?" Tera asked one day when they were studying in the library.

"Yes, all the time honestly." Hermione answered while scribbling down her Arithmancy homework.

"How do you…. How do you handle it?" she asked timidly.

Hermione paused and thought about it for a moment, then sighed, putting her quill down. "To be honest… I really don't handle it. It eventually just bubbles up and then me and Ron end up yelling at each other. I feel bad though, when I see how torn Harry gets… but Ron just has a habit of getting under my skin like no one else can."

Tera just smiled, nodding in understanding. "You and Ron do but heads a lot."

Hermione sighed, her constant arguing with Ron and all her classes wearing her out. "So… what brought on that question Tera?"

Tera's face reddened slightly, looking around she leaned in, gesturing Hermione to do the same. "Can you keep a secret Mione?"

"Of course I can. What is it?" Hermione asked, curiosity shinning in her eyes.

Tera nibbled on her lip for a minute before blurting out, "Freddie and I kissed…" turning to hide her face, her eyes watching Hermione's reaction.

Hermione just stared at her wide eyed, her brain taking a moment to reboot. "You… you and Fred Weasley kissed?" she asked, her voice squeaking a bit. "Ron's older brother? One of the twins, who also happen to be your very best friends?" her voice getting a bit higher from shock.

"Shh! Mione, please keep your voice down." Tera chastised, looking to make sure no one had heard. "Yes okay? Yes, I kissed Fred Weasley." Her head falling onto her arms.

"When did this happen? How'd it happen? Is this why you and Cedric broke up?" she asked, her eyes wide as she blurted one question after another.

Tera held up a hand and started counting out her answers. "The day before I traveled home for the holidays, we got stuck under mistletoe that wouldn't let us move unless we did and kinda, but not entirely."

"Okay… explain that last part." Hermione asked, her head reeling.

Tera sighed and turned her head to look at her friend. "The kiss made me realize that I didn't have romantic feelings for Ced… so I broke it off with him, and now we're just friends."

"The kiss made you realize that… does that mean…?"

"That I have romantic feelings for Fred?" Tera asked, with a kinda rueful smile. "Yeah, it does."

"Oh my gosh! Tera!" Hermione launched herself at the young Hufflepuff and knocking her to the floor, a bright smile on her face.

"Mione… can't breathe….." Tera gasped from under her friend.

"Right, right. Sorry about that." She said, getting up and helping Tera back up too. "So… who else knows?"

"You mean besides you, my kitten and Fred? I honestly don't know. George probably does, Fred and him tell each other everything. But other than that…. I have no idea." Tera said with a shrug, trying not to let it bother her as she sat back down. "You can't tell anyone though Mione. Promise me this stays between you and me."

"I promise Tera." Hermione said, holding her pinkie out for a pinkie promise. "So… what was it like?" she asked.

Tera blushed, her eyes glazing a bit as she thought back on the kiss. "It was like… time just kinda slowed down around us, and it was just me and him. It was sweet and tender… and all walls just kinda fell away and for the first time, I finally was completely sure of how I feel about him."

Hermione smiled, a giggle escaping her. "That sounds so sweet, and kind of corny." She chuckled.

"Oh hush!" Tera laughed, her blush still dusted across her cheeks.

After finally telling someone what had happened, Tera let life fall back into its usual groove. She hung out with her boys, did homework with a frazzled Hermione, and cheered for Gryffindor at their match against Ravenclaw. She also tagged along as the boy snuck out to Hogsmeade to get butterbeer, pumpkin fizzes, and lots of sweets from Honeydukes.

She was having lots of fun, until Ron made Hermione cry by loudly saying, "If Scabbers hadn't just been eaten, he could have had some of those Fudge Flies. He used to really like them —"

Tera turned and growled, jabbing a finger in Ron's chest. "Do you have to be so mean to her? God, you can be such a jerk Ronald!" turning she ran after Hermione, climbing the stairs and knocking lightly on the door that had sobbing emitting from behind it. "Mione…? Can I come in?" Listening she heard a sniffle and a quiet 'Yes'. Opening the door Tera closed it behind her and sat down on the bed, running her hand up and down Hermione's heaving back. "Hey… don't let Ron get to you. He's just upset because he wasn't ready to let Scabbers go."

"Well it's not my f-fa-fault Scabbers is d-d-dead! Cats k-kill rats. It's in their na-na-nature, why can't he s-see th-that?" Hermione sobbed, hitting the pillow in frustrations.

"Because boys can sometimes be pigheaded and Ron hates admitting he's in the wrong. Scabbers, from what I could tell, was on his last leg anyways. Most rats don't live for 12 years, so he was lucky. Getting eaten could have been considered a mercy killing." Tera reasoned, gathering Hermione up and letting her sob into her shoulder, smoothing her hair down. "Now come on Mione, don't let this get you down."

"Thanks Tera... you're a good friend." Hermione said around her sniffles, smiling lightly.

Tera smiled back, leaning over and picking something up off the floor. "Here, I brought some butterbeers in with me." She said, handing one over and opening her own with a smile. "Just try to enjoy yourself Mione."

Hermione sighed, opening her butterbeer and taking a sip. "I'll try, but I really do need to finish this book..." she said a bit sheepishly.

"Alright, I'll leave you alone." Tera said, giving Hermione a hug and getting up. "Just remember to not let Ron get to you." With that said Tera closed the door behind her, only leaving the Gryffindor common room when Professor McGonagall showed up in her tartan dressing gown at one in the morning and put the celebration to a stop. After hugging the boys good night, and accidentally hugging Fred a few seconds too long, Tera headed off to bed, giggling at Pixie who was running circles on her bed.

Other than the Black incident, and Hermione telling her that she had slapped the stupid out of Malfoy, nothing really substantial happened over the next few days. The closer it got to the Easter holiday's the more stressed everyone seemed to get, Hermione being the worst off with all the classes she was taking. Tera helped when she could, but there were times when she felt like hiding under a rock, there is only so many tears and blow ups you can handle before you are almost there yourself.

Spending time with the boys became hectic the closer it got to the day of the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match. Seems that the way they handled stressful situations was to be loud, rambunctious and bigger trouble makers than usual, which sort of reminded Tera of toddlers. Of course Callum loved it, because the twins would let him join in when they thought Tera wasn't paying attention. More often than not though, the boys were stopped before anything stupid could happen, and Tera would chastise them in a way reminiscent of Mrs. Weasley herself.

The night before the big match Tera had lots of energy to burn, so she snuck out onto the grounds, her form shifting as she quickly and quietly made her way to the forest. Taking in all the sights and smells around her, Tera made her way down familiar trails towards her favorite clearing. Once she got there she went about her usual routine, perfecting skills she had been working on since the beginning of the school year, and trying a few new ones.

After a couple hours she started to head back, thoroughly happy with herself. When she got to the edge of the forest though she paused, what in the world was Hermione's cat doing out on the grounds this late at night? Following the cat with her eyes she was surprised to see the same large black dog she had seen at the Hufflepuff vs. Gryffindor match. Lucky for Tera she was downwind from the dog so it didn't know she was there, unlucky for her the dog had a musky/wet dog smell wafting from it and that had her wanting to tear her nose off.

A few moments later the dog and Crookshanks made their way along the grounds, Tera following behind them silently, wondering what they were up to. Unfortunately they rounded a corner and by the time Tera did as well, they were gone. Tera snorted her annoyance and reluctantly turned, making her way to the entrance and shifting back to her normal form, shivering as a somewhat chilly gust brushed against her pajama clad body.

Quickly and quietly Tera made her way back to her dorm, cuddling up with her kitten and snuggling into the blankets, a content sigh escaping her as she quickly warmed up, though one thought bothered her as she drifted off to sleep. What was Crookshanks doing with that dog..?

Harry, the twins and the rest of the Gryffindor team entered the Great Hall the next day to enormous applause. Tera, along with the rest of her house and Ravenclaw were applauding along with the Gryffindors. The Slytherin table hissed loudly as the team passed by them, Malfoy looked even paler than usual.

Tera smiled at the boys when they sat down next to her, grabbing a piece of toast and nibbling on it to hide her amused giggle at their twitchy nervousness.

Wood spent the whole of breakfast urging his team to eat, while touching nothing himself. Then he hurried them off to the field before anyone else had finished, so they could get an idea of the conditions. As they left the Great Hall, everyone applauded again.

"Good luck, Harry!" called Cho Chang from her place at the Ravenclaw table.

Tera quickly finished her food, dusting crumbs off her skirt and making her way out to the Quidditch pitch, taking her seat and waving to Fred and George as they followed the rest of their team into the locker room.

Hermione took up her seat next to Tera, handing her a Gryffindor flag and smiling when she noticed the scarf Tera was wearing. "Where did you get that Tera?"

"Get what – oh you mean this scarf? I 'borrowed' it from Fred when he wasn't paying attention." Tera said with a giggle, before turning her eyes back to the field as the Gryffindor team made their way onto the field.

Three quarters of the crowd was wearing scarlet rosettes, waving scarlet flags with the Gryffindor lion upon them, or brandishing banners with slogans like "GO GRYFFINDOR!" and "LIONS FOR THE CUP." Behind the Slytherin goal posts, however, two hundred people were wearing green; the silver serpent of Slytherin gleamed on their flags, and Professor Snape sat in the very front row, wearing green like everyone else, and a very unattractive smile.

"And here are the Gryffindors!" yelled Lee Jordan, who was acting as commentator as usual. "Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in a good few years —"

Lee's comments were obscured by a surge of 'boos' from the Slytherin end.

"And here come the Slytherin team, led by Captain Flint. He's made some changes in the lineup and seems to be going for size rather than skill —"

More boos from the Slytherin horde, but ever Tera had to agree there were more brawns then brains on the Slytherin team. Malfoy was easily the smallest person on the Slytherin team; the rest of them were enormous.

After the captains shook hands, everyone mounted their brooms, waiting for the signal to take off. The sound of Madam Hooch's whistle was lost in the roar from the crowd as fourteen brooms rose into the air. Harry glanced around him, saw Malfoy on his tail, and sped off in search of the Snitch.

"And it's Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinner of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goal posts, looking good, Alicia! Argh, no — Quaffle intercepted by Warrington, Warrington of Slytherin tearing UP the field — WHAM! — nice Bludger work there by George Weasley, Warrington drops the Quaffle, it's caught by — Johnson, Gryffindor back in possession, come on, Angelina — nice swerve around Montague — duck, Angelina, that's a Bludger! – SHE SCORES! TEN-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

Tera screamed in delight and bounced along with Hermione, quickly turning her head to watch what would happen next, smiling as she watched the Twins hitting Bludgers at members of the Slytherin team, but then screaming indignantly when Angelina was nearly thrown from her broom as Marcus Flint went smashing into her.

"Sorry!" said Flint as the crowd below barracked. "Sorry, didn't see her!"

A moment later, Fred chucked his Beater's club at the back of Flint's head. Flint's nose smashed into the handle of his broom and began to bleed.

"That will do!" shrieked Madam Hooch, zooming between them and shaking her finger at each in turn. "Penalty shot to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty shot to Slytherin for deliberate damage to their Chaser!"

"Come off it, Miss!" hollered Fred, but Madam Hooch blew her whistle and Alicia flew forward to take the penalty.

Tera shook her head, knowing that Fred and George both were more aggressive on the field then they normally would be off it.

"Come on, Alicia!" yelled Lee into the silence that had descended on the crowd. "YES! SHE'S BEATEN THE KEEPER! TWENTY-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

Now everyone was watching Flint, who was still bleeding freely, as he flew forward to take the Slytherin penalty shot. The sea of Green and Silver cheering while the rest of the people in the stands were hoping for him to miss. Wood was hovering in front of the Gryffindor goal posts, his jaw clenched and his hands flexing out of nervousness.

"'Course, Wood's a superb Keeper!" Lee Jordan told the crowd as Flint waited for Madam Hooch's whistle. "Superb! Very difficult to pass — very difficult indeed — YES! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! HE'S SAVED IT!"

"There shouldn't have been a single doubt that he would." Tera muttered under her breath while shaking her head, Lee confused her sometimes. Singing Wood's praises, then surprised when he catches it… I mean really.

The game got back in its swing and Lee got back to commentating.

"Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession — no! Gryffindor back in possession and it's Katie Bell, Katie Bell for Gryffindor with the Quaffle, she's streaking up the field — THAT WAS DELIBERATE!"

Montague, a Slytherin Chaser, had swerved in front of Katie, and instead of seizing the Quaffle had grabbed her head. Katie cart-wheeled in the air, managed to stay on her broom, but dropped the Quaffle.

"FOUL PLAY!" yelled Tera, shaking a fist at Montague. "You dirty git, play fair or don't play at all!"

Madam Hooch's whistle rang out again as she soared over to Montague and began shouting at him. A minute later, Katie had put another penalty past the Slytherin Seeker.

"THIRTY-ZERO! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING —"

"Jordan, if you can't commentate in an unbiased way —"

"I'm telling it like it is, Professor!"

One of the Bludgers went streaking past Harry's head, hit by the gigantic Slytherin Beater, Derrick. A second Bludger grazed Harry's elbow. The other Beater, Bole, was closing in.

Harry turned the Firebolt upward at the last second, and Bole and Derrick, clubs poised to strike, collided with a sickening crunch.

"Ha haaa!" yelled Lee Jordan as the Slytherin Beaters lurched away from each other, clutching their heads. "Too bad, boys! You'll need to get up earlier than that to beat a Firebolt! And it's Gryffindor in possession again, as Johnson takes the Quaffle — Flint alongside her — poke him in the eye, Angelina! — it was a joke, Professor, it was a joke — oh no — Flint in possession, Flint flying toward the Gryffindor goal posts, come on now, Wood, save —!"

But Flint had scored; there was an upsurge of cheers from the Slytherin end, and Lee swore so badly that Professor McGonagall tried to tug the magical megaphone away from him.

"Sorry, Professor, sorry! Won't happen again! So, Gryffindor in the lead, thirty points to ten, and Gryffindor in possession —"

It quickly was turning into the dirtiest game Tera had ever played witness to. Enraged that Gryffindor had taken such an early lead, the Slytherins were soon going to any means to take the Quaffle. Bole hit Alicia with his club and tried to say he'd thought she was a Bludger.

George of course retaliated and elbowed Bole in the face. Madam Hooch awarded both teams penalties, and Wood pulled off another spectacular save, making the score forty-ten to Gryffindor.

Katie scored again and it was now fifty-ten. Fred and George were swooping around Katie, clubs raised, in case any of the Slytherins were thinking of revenge. Bole and Derrick took advantage of Fred's and George's absence to aim both Bludgers at Wood; they caught him in the stomach, one right after the other, and he rolled over in the air, clutching his broom, completely winded.

"Dirty trick! BOOO! Knock them off their brooms boys! Knock their blocks off!" Tera yelled, thoroughly annoying with the Slytherin teams cheating ways and gasping when Hermione grabbed the back of her robes to keep her from almost falling out of the stands. "Thanks Mione..."

Madam Hooch was beside herself — "YOU DO NOT ATTACK THE KEEPER UNLESS THE QUAFFLE IS WITHIN THE SCORING AREA!" she shrieked at Bole and Derrick. "Gryffindor penalty!"

And Angelina scored. Sixty-ten. Moments later, Fred pelted a Bludger at Warrington, knocking the Quaffle out of his hands; Alicia seized it and put it through the Slytherin goal — seventy-ten.

The Gryffindor crowd below was screaming itself hoarse — Gryffindor was sixty points in the lead, and if Harry caught the Snitch now, the Cup was theirs.

And then Harry saw the Snitch, he put on a huge burst of speed; he stretched out his hand, but suddenly, the Firebolt was slowing down —

Horrified, he looked around. Malfoy had thrown himself forward, grabbed hold of the Firebolt's tail, and was pulling it back— the Snitch had disappeared again.

"Penalty! Penalty to Gryffindor! I've never seen such tactics." Madam Hooch screeched, shooting up to where Malfoy was sliding back onto his Nimbus Two Thousand and One.

"YOU CHEATING SCUM!" Lee Jordan was howling into the megaphone, dancing out of Professor McGonagall's reach. "YOU FILTHY, CHEATING B —"

Professor McGonagall didn't even bother to tell him off. She was actually shaking her finger in Malfoy's direction, her hat had fallen off, and she too was shouting furiously.

Alicia took Gryffindor's penalty, but she was so angry she missed by several feet. The Gryffindor team was losing concentration and the Slytherins, delighted by Malfoy's foul on Harry, were being spurred on to greater heights.

"Slytherin in possession, Slytherin heading for goal — Montague scores —" Lee groaned. "Seventy-twenty to Gryffindor…"

Harry was now marking Malfoy so closely they kept bumping into each other on their brooms. Tera couldn't help but wonder what they were saying to each other, it looked like they were throwing insults at each other.

"Angelina Johnson gets the Quaffle for Gryffindor, come on, Angelina, COME ON!"

Every single member of the Slytherin team, excluding Malfoy, was speeding their way up the Quidditch pitch towards Angelina – intent on blocking her. Harry wheeled his Firebolt around, bent so low he was lying flat along the handle, and kicked it forward. Like a bullet, he shot toward the Slytherins.

"AAAAAAARRRGH!"

They scattered as the Firebolt zoomed toward them; Angelina's way was clear.

"SHE SCORES! SHE SCORES! Gryffindor leads by eighty points to twenty!"

Harry, who had almost pelted headlong into the stands, skidded to a halt in midair, reversed, and zoomed back into the middle of the field.

Tera cheered along with the rest of the crowd when Angelina scored but quickly went quiet. Malfoy was diving, a look of triumph on his face — there, a few feet above the grass below, was a tiny, golden glimmer —

Harry urged the Firebolt downward, but Malfoy was miles ahead —

"GO GO GO! HURRY HARRY!" yelled Tera, pounding her fist on the railing of the stands and screaming her lungs out.

Harry was gaining on Malfoy — Tera held her breath, time seemed to be slowing down. Harry flattened himself to the broom handle as Bole sent a Bludger at him — he was at Malfoy's ankles —

"Come on Harry… almost there!"

Harry threw himself forward, taking both hands off his broom. He knocked Malfoy's arm out of the way and —

"YES!" Tera screamed along with the rest of the Red and Gold clad crowd.

Harry pulled out of his dive, his hand in the air, and the stadium exploded. He soared above the crowd, a triumphant smile plastered on his face.

Then the entire team was colliding with him, screaming for joy, some even tearing up. Tangled together in a many-armed hug, the Gryffindor team sank, yelling hoarsely, back to earth.

Running onto the field Tera threw herself into Fred and George's arms, smiling happily. "You guys won!"

Wave upon wave of crimson supporters was pouring over the barriers onto the field. Hands were raining down on the Gryffindor team's backs. Suddenly Harry, the twins, and the rest of the team, were hoisted onto the shoulders of the crowd. Hagrid, who towered over all other members of the crowd was plastered with crimson rosettes — "Yeh beat 'em, Harry, yeh beat 'em! Wait till I tell Buckbeak!"

There was Percy, jumping up and down like a maniac, all dignity forgotten, his glasses askew and hair all mussed. Professor McGonagall was sobbing harder even than Wood or anyone else, wiping her eyes with an massive Gryffindor flag; Hermione and Ron were making their way through the crowd to stand at their best friend's side. Their faces grinning up at Harry as the entire team was carried to Dumbledore, who was awaiting them in the stands, the Quidditch Cup ready to be given to the winning team.

Tera beamed up at Fred and George, their excitement over winning was making her smile even bigger. "You guys did amazing."

After winning the Cup everyone piled into the Great Hall, everyone wanted in on the celebration, well everyone except Slytherin of course. The Professor's allowed it and even joined in on the festivities. Tera was having a grand time, dancing around with the twins, Harry, Ron; who had finally gotten over his crush on her; Hermione and she even danced with Professor Flitwick for a turn. Finally at two in the morning the Professors decided to send everyone off to bed.

Tera hugged Hermione, Harry and Ron goodnight with a smile, watching them walk up the stairs before turning to her boys, who were almost dead on their feet from all the excitement of the day. "You two look like someone beat you up with your own bats." She chuckled, noting the tired bags under their eyes and how sluggish they were.

"Haha, funny." Fred grumbled around a yawn. "Just give us a hug before we pass out." he said, holding his arms open and swaying a bit.

Tera rolled her eyes with a smile and pulled George; who was asleep on his feet, into a hug, sticking her tongue out at Fred playfully.

Fred narrowed his eyes and tackled them both with a growl, laughing as they all landed in a tangled mess on the floor. "Don't you stick your tongue out at me."

Tera just giggled, hugging both of her boys to her. "Alright, I love you guys, but you need to let me up so I can get to bed!" she said around her giggles, trying to wiggle out from under them.

Both boys got up and offered her a hand, pulling her up and into a hug. "Night Tera, sweet dreams." mumbled the twins before they stumbled off with yawns, heading up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower.

Dusting herself off Tera made her way to her dormitory; shuffling her feet so she didn't trip over her kitten, who was weaving herself between her feet and purring. "Pixie, move your fuzzy butt." She grumbled, picking up the kitten and setting her on the bed before changing into a baggy t-shirt and shorts underneath. Climbing into bed Tera curled up and quickly fell asleep, a smile on her face, and a kitten curled up on her hip.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Wow… I haven't updated in forever…. I am so sorry! We have finally reached the end of year 3. I truly hope you enjoy it and that it was worth the wait I put you through. Drop me a PM if you have any questions, and please leave a Review! I love to know what you guys think! Thanks guys and gals! Much love to ElephantShoes who has been a faithful reader since she stumbled upon my stories months ago. You are the best!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; if I did there would have been a lot less deaths, and more happy endings. I do however own this story and my Characters Tera, her family and her pets. There are some excerpts from the book in this chapter, but I tried to make them from Tera's point of view. No hating, just read and enjoy the Tera moments in their random abundance. I hope you all enjoy, and leave me a review. Much love to you, now enjoy the story.**

**Chapter Seven:**

**Exams and Executions**

For the next week Tera watched as the Gryffindor team was on cloud nine. Even the weather seemed to be celebrating; as June approached, the days became cloudless and sultry, and all anybody felt like doing was strolling onto the grounds and flopping down on the grass with several pints of iced pumpkin juice. Perhaps playing a casual game of Gobstones or watching the giant squid propel itself dreamily across the surface of the lake.

But lazing about wasn't in the cards for any of them. Exams were fast approaching and instead of enjoying the heat and having fun, students were forced to remain inside the castle, trying to cram every bit of knowledge they could into their heads in time for exams, while trying to resist the temptation of the fresh summer air that would beckon to them through open windows.

Tera was also seen cramming, she would sometimes be seen helping Hermione to not pull her hair out while studying, and other times she'd be with Fred and George, helping to quiz them on things for their O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels), and they would in turn help her to study, which was a great help cause they had already been through the classes. When she would be up in Gryffindor Tower studying with Hermione or the twins, Tera was extra careful to avoid Percy who was getting ready to take his N.E.W.T.s (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests), the highest qualification Hogwarts offered. As Percy hoped to enter the Ministry of Magic, he needed top grades. He was becoming increasingly edgy, and gave very severe punishments to anybody who disturbed the quiet of the common room in the evenings.

When Tera had to do a Confusing Concoction in Potions class, she got nervous because Snape was hovering that she got some of the measurements wrong and her Confusing Concoction ended up causing a concussion instead of confusion. Luckily though she did good enough to pass, which was a major relief.

Then came Astronomy at midnight, up on the tallest tower, Tera charted out the constellations and smiled as she mapped out her favorites. Wednesday morning brought History of Magic, Tera quickly writing down all the things her grandmother had told her over the years about the medieval witch-hunts and the roles of different famous figures in them. Later that afternoon meant Herbology, in the greenhouses under the scorching-hot sun; then back to her common room to treat her sunburnt neck and cheeks, thinking longingly of this time tomorrow when all of this would be over with.

The second to last exam, on Thursday morning, was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin had compiled the most unusual exam any of them had ever taken; a sort of obstacle course outside in the sun, where they had to wade across a deep paddling pool containing a Grindylow, cross a series of potholes full of Red Caps, squish their way across a patch of marsh while ignoring misleading directions from a Hinkypunk, then climb into an old trunk and battle with a new Boggart.

Tera made her way through the course relatively quickly, only pausing for a moment at the Hinkypunk's misleading directions before she climbed into the trunk with the Boggart. Once in the trunk Tera steeled herself to face off with the one thing that always can make her scream like a little girl and run crying to her mum. Before her was a humungous wasp, easily the size of a Bulldog and buzzing angrily, its stinger aimed at her and getting closer every second. Tera froze, trying desperately to think of something funny, anything. After a minute or two Tera was laughing hysterically at the Wasp, who had turned into an adorable little tiger cub who kept falling over and squeaking.

Upon making her way out of the trunk, her giggles having finally subsided, Tera came face to face with a beaming Professor Lupin. "Excellent, Tera! Well done indeed my girl, full marks."

Tera smiled and walked off to the side, flopping down and watching the rest of the class make their way through the obstacle course. Harry quickly made his way through and was out a little bit quicker than Tera herself had, then he came and sat down next to her and watched Ron and Hermione make their way through.

Ron did very well until he reached the Hinkypunk, which successfully confused him into sinking waist-high into the quagmire. Hermione did everything perfectly until she reached the trunk with the Boggart in it. After about a minute inside it, she burst out again, screaming.

"Hermione!" said Lupin, startled. "What's the matter?"

"P-P-Professor McGonagall!" Hermione gasped, pointing into the trunk. "Sh-she said I'd failed everything!"

It took a little while to calm Hermione down, Tera held onto her and reminded her that it was a Boggart and not really Professor McGonagall. When at last she had regained a grip on herself, she, Harry, Ron and Tera all made their way back to the castle. Ron was still slightly inclined to laugh at Hermione's Boggart and Tera would defend her, but an argument was averted by the sight that met them on the top of the steps.

Cornelius Fudge, sweating slightly in his pinstriped cloak, was standing there staring out at the grounds. He started at the sight of Harry.

"Hello there, Harry!" he said. "Just had an exam, I expect? Nearly finished?"

"Yes," said Harry. Hermione, Tera and Ron, not being on speaking terms with the Minister of Magic, hovered awkwardly in the background. Tera shifted from foot to foot, wanting to get inside and out of the heat

"Lovely day," said Fudge, casting an eye over the lake. "Pity… pity…"

He sighed deeply and looked down at Harry.

"I'm here on an unpleasant mission, Harry. The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures required a witness to the execution of a mad Hippogriff. As I needed to visit Hogwarts to check on the Black situation, I was asked to step in."

Tera jumped, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the Minister. They were going to kill Buckbeak? Her heart plummeted as she listened to the rest of the conversation; she decided that she was going to go down and see Buckbeak one last time, wishing that the poor dear didn't have to die.

After they entered the Great Hall Tera quickly excused herself and headed off to find the twins, pulling them away from their studies to make sure they ate, giving them a handful of walnuts each. "Brain food, you two have been studying so much that you haven't been eating right. And no, chocolate frogs and butterbeer do not a nutritious meal make." She scolded, hands on her hips. Sighing she sat down and helped herself to a sandwich and some orange juice, just one more exam and the day would over with.

Before heading to her Muggle Studies, Tera hugged each of her boys, pecking them on the cheeks and wishing them luck with their next class, and telling them to meet her out on the grounds once they were done. Tera met up with Hermione and they made their way to class, sitting down and immediately starting work.

Time flew and Tera finally got to stretch her sore body, she had finished her test just moments after Hermione and felt good about it, knowing she passed for sure, though thinking maybe she should have written another page or two on the essay, hoping that the 5 pages she already had would be okay. Smiling she skipped her way out of the class, leaving behind Hermione who wanted to talk to the Professor about her exam.

Tera quickly made her way out onto the grounds, smiling and waving to the twins who were relaxing under their favorite tree before joining them there, flopping down with a dramatic sigh. "Finally free! So how'd your O.W.L.s go boys?"

Fred scooted so he was lying right next to her and sighed dramatically. "Eh, just glad they are finally over."

George nodded his agreement, and scooted to Tera's other side, resting his head on his book bag.

The three of them just relaxed and watched the clouds, pointing out the shapes they would see such as a bunny, owl, wand, and even a dog. They stayed there for about an hour before heading inside for dinner. Tera left early though, sneaking out to visit Buckbeak, moving quickly and quietly to remain unseen. The rest of the school would be getting out from dinner in around thirty minutes, which would give her enough time to say her goodbyes to the beautiful creature.

Walking up to him, Tera bowed low, keeping eye contact and walking towards him with a smile when he bowed back. "Hello handsome. I'm so sorry to hear about what's going to happen to you." She whispered, resting her forehead against his shoulder.

Buckbeak nuzzled her, clicking his beak and ruffling his feathers, not liking the sad morbidness that had be around him since his trip to London.

"Shh, I know sweetling, I know. You have to be strong, keep your pride." She mumbled, smoothing his feathers down. She heard a shuffling noise coming from Hagrid's hut, hugging Buckbeak again around the neck she turned and quickly made her escape, tears blurring her vision. Knowing that the rest of the school was leaving the Great Hall, Tera ran to the forest and headed straight to her usual clearing, falling to her knees and letting the tears flow. "Stupid Malfoy! Buckbeak does not deserve to die… maybe I can help… I could let him loose… but then that would go back on Hagrid… Damn it all!"

Tera sat there for another 10 minutes, trying to think of a way to help Buckbeak, annoyed when nothing came to mind that would actually work. She was thinking of going out into the woods farther for a run, but paused, turning her head to listen for a moment. What in the world was that rustling sound? "Hello…?" she asked, getting ready to bolt in case it was something dangerous.

The large black dog she had seen with Crookshanks slowly came out of the bushes, its head low as it stared hard at her, assessing as to whether or not she was a threat. It slowly circled her, getting a bit closer until it was about three feet away from her, its light colored eyes looking at her almost like it was wondering what she was doing out here.

"What are you doing out here big guy?" she asked, making herself as unthreatening as possible, holding out a cautious hand. Looking at him, she figured he must be a stray, his fur was matted and he looked to be skin and bone, but his eyes were what really got her attention. They seemed… very familiar, as though she had known them long ago… they were full of intelligence, and maybe a bit of sadness, but also wary of her. Feeling unthreatened by him, Tera threw caution to the wind and got closer, holding her hand out for him to sniff.

The dog slowly moved closer to her, sticking his nose out and taking a tentative sniff before bumping her hand, giving her the sign that he wasn't going to bite.

Tera slowly placed her hand on the dog's head, scratching behind his ear and smiling when his tongue lolled out, his tail thumping against the ground. "You aren't so scary, are you?" she asked with a chuckle, looking into his eyes though, Tera got an odd feeling. "You remind me of someone…" she mumbled, a fuzzy image coming to mind, something from when she was still very little.

The dog turned his head, his ears perking up as if hearing something he had been waiting for. Giving Tera a lick on her cheek he quickly got up and broke into a run, heading towards the castle.

Running after him Tera stopped when she heard a wild howling and her whole body went cold. "That sounds like Hagrid…. Oh no, Buckbeak!" she sobbed, standing there indecisively for a moment before quickly turning and running back into the woods, her body shifting as she tried to run from the heart wrenching pain she was feeling.

After nearly an hour of running Tera finally stopped, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Turning she started making her way back, her head hung low in grief over that fate of Buckbeak. When she was about a 20 minute walk away from the edge of the forest Tera heard an eerie howl, her ears perked as she looked around her, wondering where it could be coming from. She started walking again, but stopped when she heard a loud cracking noise and rustling about 100 yards ahead of her. Crouching low she tried to skirt her way around whatever it could be, but she accidentally stepped on a branch which resulted in a loud crack.

The rustling quickly made its way towards her and Tera found herself face to face with a male werewolf. Thinking quickly Tera tried to keep herself calm and to slowly back away from it, not making any sudden or threatening movements. The werewolf though seemed to have focused in on her, its muzzle was scratched, and it seemed to have been in a fight very recently. Trying to put a bit of distance between herself and him, Tera yelped in pain when she felt something jab her leg.

Her yelp was taken as a sign of weakness and he lunged at her, throwing her into a tree and stalking towards her. Tera quickly got herself up, grunting at the pain in her side before she quickly dodged the next attack, the training she had been doing kicking in and helping her to protect herself from getting thrown again. Lunging at him Tera latched onto his shoulder, trying not to let herself be shaken off but after a couple minutes of being shaken the werewolf ripped her away from him and threw her into another tree.

Realizing she wouldn't be able to keep fighting for much longer Tera quickly shifted and pulled her wand out, pointing it at the werewolf and screaming _"Stupefy!"_ hitting it directly in the chest and watching it hit the ground with a thud. Tera slowly made her way around it and hobbled off towards the school, wincing as she held her ribs, feeling the warm stickiness of blood blossoming from under her hand.

Shifting back to her other form, she quickly made her way across the grounds, able to ignore the pain for the most part. When she reached the entrance to the Great Hall she shifted back, pushing the door open she fell inside, gasping and curling in on herself at the jolt of pain that went through her side.

That's how Fred and George found her; they had been sneaking into the kitchen for a late night snack, but upon seeing her laying on the floor in the fetal position their appetites went out the door. They quickly ran to her, not knowing what to do. "Bloody hell Ter, what happened to you?" George asked, moving her hand from her side and gasping at the sight of blood.

"We better get you to the hospital wing love." said Fred, gently picking her up and starting to head in that direction.

"N-no!" she gasped, wincing as that outburst caused her pain. "Please don't ta-take me there.."

"Ter, why not? You need healing, your bleeding for heaven's sake." said George as he walked along next to his brother.

"They'll a-ask too m-many questions." she mumbled, burying her face in Fred's robes and gripping tightly, trying not to let them see just how much pain she was in. "Ju-just drop me o-off at the H-Hufflepuff entrance… I'll b-be fine."

"Leaving you alone is the last thing we are going to do!" growled Fred, turning from the way to the hospital wing and instead heading towards Gryffindor Tower. "If you don't want to go to the hospital wing, fine. But we're going to take care of you love."

"Lucky for you we paid close attention when you taught us those minor healing spell. They'll help a lot." said George before giving the password to enter the common room.

Fred set Tera down on the couch, crouching down next to her and gingerly touching her side, frowning when she arched and gasped in pain. "This seems pretty bad… I can't tell exactly what's wrong though."

"I… I think I h-have a few cr-cracked rips, a busted l-lip and a pu-puncture w-wound on my left side…" she said, closing her eyes and focusing on of the places in pain. "I think that's it.."

"What do we do Ter?" asked George, getting down on his knees next to his brother.

Tera slowly moved her arm and clicked the 5th button on her watch, shakily pulling out a tiny bottle with an eyedropper, holding it out to Fred, who grabbed it before she dropped it.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Mum told me it's a p-pain revealer. It'll make it ea-easier for you to t-treat my wound if I'm not cringing in p-pain. T-Two drops should d-do it.." she mumbled, wincing when George hesitantly moved her shirt up to see the puncture wound, grimacing at how deep it was.

"It looks like you got stabbed by a branch Ter, it's pretty bloody and there's lots of bruising, I'll need to clean it…" he said while his brother quickly gave her a few drops of the foul tasting pain reliever.

Tera just grit her teeth and nodded, wincing as George wiped the blood away, then sighing as the pain reliever started taking effect. "All you need to do is treat the puncture wound, other than that everything else will be fine." She mumbled, licking the bit of blood from her lip.

"Let us just heal the wound and your busted lip at least." Taking out their wands they each pointed at one of her wounds, mumbling _Episkey_ and concentrating.

Tera felt her side and lips go uncomfortably hot, then cold, smiling when she didn't taste blood on her lips anymore. "You guys did great.." she mumbled around a yawn, her energy was quickly leaving her, all the adrenaline rushing out of her body and leaving her exhausted.

The twins smiled, each sitting down on the couch with her, sliding under her legs and her head.

"Get some rest love, Merlin knows you could use it." Fred said, brushing a bit of hair out of her eyes and smiling down at her.

Tera smiled sleepily up at him, her eyes drifting shut as she dozed off.

A few hours later George woke up to a light humming and something playing with his hair. Opening his eyes though all he saw was hair, upon sitting up he noticed that Tera was awake, and somehow had switch places with him and Fred, their heads resting in her lap.

"Hullo Georgie." Tera said with a soft voice, still absentmindedly playing with Fred's hair while he slept.

"Hi Ter…" he replied, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. "So… what happened to you tonight?"

Tera sighed, not wanting to lie to him. "I… had a bit of a run in with a werewolf.." she mumbled.

"A werewolf!? It didn't bite you did it?" George asked with alarm.

"No of course not! It tossed me around a bit and I defended myself." She said.

"Wait… where were you when this happened?"

Tera looked down, took a deep breath and answered truthfully. "The Forbidden Forest…"

George blinked, looking at her with wide eyes. "Ter… what were you doing out in the forest… and how did you fight a werewolf…?"

Tera sighed, gently shifting Fred's head and setting it on the couch; she got up, walking to the center of the room and then looked back at George with nervous eyes. "I went out originally to clear my head, but when I heard Hagrid howling, I ran cause I didn't want deal with the pain of Buckbeak's death… so I shifted and ran."

"…shifted?"

Tera nodded, taking a deep breath to steel her nerves. "Yes, shifted." She said, taking a step back and smiling shyly. "Don't freak out…" she said before shifting before his eyes.

George was flabbergasted. He had just watched Tera shift from herself into a russet colored wolf with a white starburst on its hip and the transformation had caused him to jump back in surprise.

Tera quickly shifted back, looking at George in concern while holding her side, her ribs were getting sore again. "Are you okay Georgie…?"

"How… How did you do that…?" he asked, still in a bit of shock.

"I'm an Animagus… Have been for a few years.." Tera said with a shrug.

"How… It takes a lot to become one… how did you accomplish it at only 13?" George asked as he sat down, completely confused.

"My great aunt Sylvia… she's a bit batty. I went to stay with her when I was nine because Callum had the dragon pox and I'd never had them. Mum was off in the south of France on an emergency call and nana didn't want me sick too. Well I was there for two weeks, and in that time I got made into an Animagus. Nana and mum blew up when they found out; they asked great aunt Sylvia why she did it and all she would say is I would need it one day." Tera explained, still completely confused about it herself.

"Wow… that's crazy. So you turn into a…wolf?"

"Yeah, not the most practical thing, but it works." Tera nodded a smile on her face as she sat down next to him. Looking over at Fred's sleeping form, she frowned though. "How… How am I going to explain this to Freddie…" she mumbled, worried about how he would take it and if he'd freak out.

"I'll tell him Ter, and don't worry, he isn't going to freak out about this either. He'll probably think it's cool." George reassured her, patting her knee comfortingly.

"Okay… hey Georgie?"

"Yeah, Ter?" George asked, turning to look at her.

"Uhm… did…. Did Fred talk to you… about what happened before Christmas…?" Tera asked, a blush dusting her face.

George smiled, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "You mean your guy's kiss?"

"Yeah… that…"

"Yeah Fred told me. He also told me about how you ran off afterwards. Want to tell me what that's about Ter?" George asked, placing a hand on her knee.

"I… I was dating Cedric at the time… It's not right to be kissing someone behind your boyfriends back…" she mumbled.

"Tera… I think you ran because you knew if you didn't, you wouldn't want to leave. And you were afraid of possible rejection." George reasoned, looking at her knowingly.

Tera's blush spread to the roots of her hair, her eyes wide as she looked at him. "You… how… am I that easy to read Georgie?"

"Tera, I know you have feelings for my brother, that much is obvious. At least to me anyways." George said with a shrug. "My brother is just sometimes too much of a stupid git to see it."

At that Tera smiled lightly shaking her head. "Other than Hermione, you're the only person I've talked to about this Georgie. I… I felt something during that kiss… but I don't want to ruin my friendship with him over my silly little feelings." She said while looking down with a sigh.

"Tera… your feelings aren't stupid. You just have to give my brother time. He can be a bit thick at times." George said, smiling over at his brother's sleeping form.

"Thanks Georgie… why don't you help Freddie up to bed, I'll let myself out in a few minutes." Tera pecked him on the cheek and Fred on the forehead before walking over to the window and looking out across the grounds.

George nodded and pulled his brother up, throwing one arm over his shoulders and hefting him up the stairs to their room. "Good night Tera."

"Good night Georgie-porgie." Tera mumbled, her eyes focused on a figure flying over the forest on the back of a Hippogriff. "Good luck Sirius…" she whispered before turning and heading out the porthole.

The next morning Tera was wandering the halls, her feet seemed to lead her to Professor Lupin's classroom, where she came upon him packing up his things. "What's going on here…?" she asked, confusion etched on her face.

"Oh, Miss Howell, well as I'm sure you must now know, I'm a werewolf –" he started, placing another book in a box.

"I've known for a while Professor." She admitted.

"Clever girl… when did you figure it out?" he asked with a shake of his head.

"My mum gave me a book over the summer that had information on werewolves… so when we were going against the Boggart and it turned into a full moon for you… that kinda clued me in, Professor Snape's essay just confirmed my suspicions more…"

"Why didn't you say anything if you knew?" Lupin asked in confusion.

"Because, I knew you weren't going to harm any of us if you could help it. I'm sure you didn't ask for this to happen to you, and you can't control it when you change. I'm sure you didn't mean for anything to happen." She said, her hand absentmindedly drifting to her ribs.

Lupin's eyes widened for a moment when he noticed her hand holding her side. "Dear girl, what's the matter with your ribs?" He asked, taking a step towards her with a hand raised in concern.

"Oh… uhm…" she bit her lips, looking up at him and contemplating lying, but thought better of it and sighed, deciding to tell the truth. "We sort of had a bit of a run in with each other last night…" she mumbled, looking down at her shoes.

"I…. I didn't bite you… did I?" he asked in a low voice full of fear.

"Oh no! Nothing like that, you just tossed me around a bit… You probably have a mark on your shoulder from me…"

Lupin blinked, moving his shirt he looked down at his shoulder, confusion exploding across his face. "But this isn't something a girl your size could do. This looks like a bite from an animal…" he stopped and stared at her for a moment, flicking his wand at the door to shut them in. "What are you child, surely not a werewolf.."

"You're right on that. I am not a werewolf, but I am a wolf…" she said sincerely.

"An Animagus..? At your age, that's just remarkable. Dear girl how ever did you do it?" he asked, leaning against his desk and staring at her in wonder.

"Long story short, I have a batty great aunt who thought it would help me later in life. I've been one since I was 9 but have only recently gotten a hold on it."

"If I may be so bold, would you show me please?" he asked, looking at her like a puzzle he was starting to piece together.

Tera sighed and took a step back, her form smoothly shifting from a small human girl to a russet colored wolf. Her green eyes staring up at him as she sat down on her haunches, a creamy white colored starburst pattern on her right hip.

"Magnificent, I will admit I haven't met someone quite like you in a long while Tera." Lupin said, nodding at her to shift back to her normal form.

Tera stood up and with a pop was back to being herself. "But you have met Animagus before." She said, a knowing gleam in her eye.

"Yes, three of my best mates when I was in school were Animagus. I'm sure your mother could tell you all about my group of friends."

"My mother… You were friends with James and Sirius…" she said after thinking for a moment, remembering her mother talk about her school years.

"Yes, they were my very best friends, us along with Peter Pettigrew used to get into as much trouble, if not more, as your friends the Weasley Twins." He said with a chuckle.

"Sirius… he was here last night, wasn't he?" she asked, looking up at him with her vivid green eyes.

"Yes, and he got away from the Ministry and its dementors. I'm sure you already know that."

"Yeah, I saw him and Beaky both get away…" she mumbled. "What…. What was his Animagus form Professor? And don't lie to me that he hasn't got one, cause I know better."

Lupin chuckled, seeing so much of her mother in her determined look. "A large black dog. That is Sirius's form."

Hearing that Tera teared up a bit, remembering her meeting with the large black dog in the woods and how familiar is seemed, and its affectionate farewell. "Siri…" she mumbled, flashes of a happy, healthy man with twinkling eyes full of mischief flashing across her mind, and then her mother's tears telling her he wasn't coming back. "Professor –"

"Please child, I'm not really your Professor anymore. You may call me by my name." he said, a kind smile on his face.

"…Remus. Why… why did Sirius come here? Was… was he really trying to kill Harry? I want to know the truth. Is Sirius Black really a bad man?" she asked, her voice wavering ever so slightly.

"He didn't come here to kill Harry. Quite to the contrary, he came to protect Harry. Peter Pettigrew is still alive; he told Voldemort where James and Lily were when they went into hiding. Sirius was wrongfully persecuted child, he was innocent." He answered, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"But he still left! He left me and mom! My brother…. Sirius doesn't know about him…"

Lupin paused, looking down at the girl before him. "Tera… how old is your brother?"

Tera sniffled and looked up at him, her green eyes huge and reflective. "He turned 12 in January..."

"Is he…?"

"Is he Sirius Black's son?" she asked with a laugh. "Yeah. My brother's full name is Callum Sirius Howell-Black." she answered, letting the cat out of the bag after years of her family hiding it. "Callum doesn't know though! You can't tell him anything. All he knows is his dad isn't around but he fought in the last Wizarding War. He thinks he died in a raid or something."

"Wow… I had to wonder, he looks a lot like him…" Remus mused with a smile. "Don't worry; your secret is safe with me. Well I had best finish packing, do tell your mother I say hi when you see her again."

Tera nodded, thinking only a moment before throwing her arms around his waist and hugging him, mumbling into his chest. "Mum used to tell me I had an uncle Remus… I'm guessing that's you." Looking up she smiled and pecked him on the check. "Do keep in touch, it's nice to have more family around." With that said Tera turned and left, but not before seeing a big smile spread across Lupin's face, making him look 10 years younger and much more handsome.

The rest of school seemed to fly by, everyone got their exam results on the last of term. Tera passed all her classes with flying colors, getting the second highest grade in Muggle Studies with a 315 percent. The twins managed to get a handful of O.W.L.s each and their older brother Percy got his top grade N.E.W.T.s. Tera ate dinner with at the Gryffindor that night amidst the Gold and Crimson décor, a smile on her face as she enjoyed the last day of school with her boys before summer kept them from seeing each other daily. Callum was of course now comfortable enough that he spent his time with his friends, stealing occasional glances at little Calliope Abernathy who would blush and wave at him shyly.

Once they were all loaded up on the Hogwarts Express Tera curled up in her seat, a small yawn escaping her as she lay out across her boy's laps. "Wake me when we're about 20 minutes from King's Cross." She mumbled before dozing off.

Fred and George both chuckled, deciding to play Callum a few games of exploding snaps, and splitting a tin of cookies Tera had left for them to eat on the trip. The twins of course also playfully teased Callum about Calliope, knowing that he really cared about her. When they were twenty minutes from Kings Cross Fred shook Tera awake, smiling when she nearly rolled onto the floor.

"Love, we're almost there. Time to get your things together." Fred said while helping her to sit up.

Tera nodded, pulling off her robe to reveal her blue jeans and black tank top underneath. Folding her robes and putting them in her trunk she pulled out a white button up shirt she had commandeered from Fred's trunk and pulled it on. Nudging Callum awake she helped him move things around in his trunk to fit his robes in, then turned to face her boys, holding her arms open with a smile. "I'm going to miss seeing you two on a daily basis."

"You'll see us on your birthday for sure, heck maybe we'll even see you at The Quidditch Cup too, your brother has been talking about it none stop for a month in the common room." George said, pulling Tera up into a bear hug.

Tera smiled, knowing how much her brother loves Quidditch. "Yeah, you just might see us there with how much Callum will whine to mum." She chuckled, turning to Fred she smiled tenderly and pulled him into a hug, standing on her tiptoes so he wouldn't have to slouch too much. "Don't be a stranger Freddie, we could always do with a few more pranksters running amuck at home. You two are always welcome."

Fred smiled and hugged her back, his face hidden in her hair. "No worries love, you'll see us so often you'll become sick of us." He teased, standing up straight and smiling down at the girl in his arms.

Tera blushed, but smiled back none the less. "I would never get sick of see you two, your my best mates and I love you to death."

The train finally reached King's Cross station and the group gathered their things and disembarked from the train, Tera and Callum went through the gates first, waving a farewell to the twins as they went off to find their mother.

Scanning the crowds Tera quickly found her mother and pulled Callum along with her, launching herself into Persephone's arms with a laugh. "Mum! Oh how I've missed you."

Persephone smiled fondly at both of her children, noting that Callum had hit a growth spurt and was now taller than his sister by a good 3 inches. "My, my Callum, looks like you're going to need new clothes. You're already as tall as I am." She said with a laugh, noting that her son was indeed as tall as she was at 5'4".

Callum smiled sheepishly, looking down at his pants that ended a few inches above his ankles. "Yeah… I guess I did get taller." He mumbled, stull not used to his change in height.

"Well then, let's get going shall we?" turning she made her way to her usual apparition spot, grabbing each of her children's hands Persephone apparated them into their back yard.

After coming home things just fell into a comfortable lull. That is until one morning when Tera woke up to a pair of chocolate brown eyes staring down at her from behind flaming red bangs.

"Morning love." came Fred Weasley's chipper voice, his eyes crinkling with his smile.

"Mornin' Freddie… what are you doing here?" she asked around a yawn that she turned and hid in her pillow.

George popped up next to Fred and smiled, rolling his eyes. "It's your birthday silly, we're here to celebrate!" he said, pulling out some of Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks and setting them off with a smile.

Tera chuckled, watching the fireworks zoom around her room. "You two are going to wake the whole neighborhood if you keep that up." Flipping the covers off, she got up and went over to her closet, pulling out a purple t-shirt and shorts. After shooing the boys out of her room she quickly dressed and threw her hair up in a ponytail, her bangs falling around her face.

Downstairs the twins were already trying to sneak some of the cupcakes that Tera's grandmother had set out, but only got their hands smacked and told to wait by the little old lady herself.

"I swear, all women have eyes in the back of their heads." Grumbled Fred as he rubbed his sore hand and pouted.

"We also have excellent hearing too." Nana Rosella replied from the other room with a laugh.

"Bloody hell!" Fred said in surprise only to cover his mouth and yell from behind it "Sorry!"

Tera smiled and walked up to the table, grabbing a cupcake and smiling cheekily at the boys who both looked at her in shock. "What?" she asked innocently as she took a bite out of the cupcake and tried to hide her smirk.

"How…?" they both asked, knowing that if they tried that their hands would be smarting again.

"I guess I'm just special like that." She replied with a laugh as she finished off her cupcake.

The rest of the day was spent laughing, playing games in the backyard and stuffing their faces with all sorts of birthday goodies. By the time the sun was going down Tera and the twins were all sitting on the balcony outside Tera's room, watching the evening colors get painted across the sky.

"Thank you for spending my birthday with me, you guys are amazing, you know that?" she said, her head resting on Fred's shoulder as she watched the sun hit the horizon.

"So we've been told." They both replied with chuckles, nodding at each other they pulled out a box each and presented them to Tera.

"You guys didn't have to get me presents." She muttered, knowing they didn't have a lot to spend on gifts.

"We thought you might like these."

Opening the first box Tera gasped with surprise as fireworks shot out and into the sky making wonderful shapes and exploding into 'Happy Birthday Tera!' with a smile she opened the other box and her eyes misted over. Inside was little teddy bear she had ever seen, upon closer inspection she noticed it had a bracelet around its neck.

It was the charm bracelet that Hermione had given her on her first Christmas at Hogwarts, but it had more charms on it now. Besides the 'T' that was already on it there were 4 new charms. Added to it was an 'F', a 'G', a howling wolf and looking closer Tera blushed, the last charm looked like mistletoe. Fred seemed oblivious but George was smiling at her like someone who was in on a secret.

"Wow you guys… I love it." She said, holding her wrist out for it to be placed on and marveling at it once it was on.

"We're going to at a new charm every year for something important that happens." said Fred who still hadn't noticed the mistletoe his brother had snuck onto the bracelet.

"One day you'll have so many charms on it you'll fall over from all the weight on it." George chuckled. Looking down at his watch he tapped his brother's shoulder and jerked his head towards the door. "We had better be getting home, mom will be expecting us back soon.

Tera walked with them down to the fireplace, pulling them both into a bone crushing hug. "I love you guys, I'm glad we got to spend the day together."

"We love you too Tera, Happy Birthday." They both replied, pecking her on her cheeks then grabbing some Floo powder and stepping into the fireplace after yelling 'The Burrow'.

Heading upstairs Tera dressed for bed, Pixie curling up on her hip as she fell asleep, a smile on her face. It was an amazing way to end her birthday.


End file.
